Silent Witness star Alastair Michael has revealed that series 27 is "more exciting" than the previous season and that fans can expect "more topical" stories in the new episodes. The actor plays Velvy Schur in the long-running crime drama, which follows Dr Nikki Alexander [Emilia Fox], Jack Hodgson [David Caves] and the rest of the team at the Lyell Centre as they tackle grizzly investigations.
While chatting with HELLO! and other journalists ahead of the new series, Alastair, who plays Velvy Schur, opened up about what fans can expect from the new episodes.
"What people can expect from Silent Witness is real topical, interesting scripts, engaging human characters who bring the audience along the journey with them and a sense of family that binds it all together in the regular cast which helps to be the ship in the storm when the crimes get darker and the body count goes up.
"I think that is what people can expect, the same as last season but more exciting and more topical," he added.
Meanwhile, David, who has starred in the drama since 2013, spoke about what keeps the show fresh after all these years.
"With anything, the more you do something, maybe you get a little bit tired and complacent but we're not really allowed to do that because every time is new, every story is new," explained the actor. "You get a new bunch of actors in, new energy and a new director. We're constantly on our toes. In ten years, I've only worked with the same director maybe twice, it's a different person every time. That's a lot of people, a lot of brain power."
The new series, which premieres on Monday 8 January at 9pm on BBC One, Nikki, Jack and the team are faced with "their most chilling cases yet" across five two-part mysteries, including the discovery of a mummified corpse and fears over a serial killer resurfacing after 20 years.
The official synopsis teases: "In Series 27, pathologist Dr Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox), forensic expert Jack Hodgson (David Caves) and their dedicated team must help the police solve some of their most chilling cases yet: a body found in an abandoned church sparks fears that a serial killer has resurfaced after twenty years, death terrorises a university campus and no one is safe, a mummified corpse is uncovered - seemingly forgotten by everyone, the Lyell is infiltrated by a malevolent force, and multiple bodies are found entombed beneath a train station in a makeshift mass grave."
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Fans can also expect to see Nikki and Jack take on "parental roles" when it comes to Jack's niece, Cara, and Velvy, who developed a sweet bond in series 26.
Emilia said: "With Velvy and Cara, [Jack's] taking on a new paternal role and Nikki, who doesn't have children but becomes this go-to person, which you do in a partnership, you test things out. It's a real trust with each other."
David added: "They both take on those parental roles which is really great and makes sense but it's not done in a heavy-handed way."