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TV drama captures real life terror

Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox) in BBC's Silent Witness. Picture: Sophie Mutevelian

A car pulls off a motorway outside London and into a fuel station and while the driver fills the car, his wife heads for the cafe. Then two shots ring out and both are killed as a hidden sniper shatters this everyday scene.

More people are shot as the first two-hour episode of season 18 of Silent Witness unfolds and the forensic team has no idea where to start their investigation.

Modelled on real-life attacks by a Washington sniper, it is a gritty story with a shock ending.

Star Emilia Fox, who plays forensic pathologist Nikki Alexander, agrees with British reviews of Silent Witness which point to this season being even more hard-edged than usual with some scenes that she found challenging to play.

"In this story is the randomness of the shootings that baffles the police and the team and trying to make the connection between the victims proves difficult," she said.

"Then also there is a personal element for the Thomas Chamberlain character when the killer threatens schools in the area.

"Our stories are always very relevant and that is part of what the audience connect to. When there are things going on in real life that are terrifying, it gives a truth to Silent Witness despite the dramatic licence taken."

The drama returns today on BBC First and the pay-TV channel has chosen to show each two-part story as a telemovie.

Fox thinks these longer standalone storylines are part of the reason the show has lasted since 1996, with filming of the 19th series due to begin in April. Fox has played Dr Alexander since 2004.

She arrived on the show as a junior to Professor Leo Dalton (William Gaminara) and Dr Harry Cunningham (Tom Ward) but is now the lead character, with forensic scientist Jack Hodgson (David Caves), his lab assistant Clarissa Mullery (Liz Carr) and the new head of the Lyell Centre, Dr Thomas Chamberlain (Richard Lintern).

"Nikki arrived as a tomboy and was prepared to throw herself into everything and was always emotionally involved with the cases," Fox said.

"Then there was the family element between her, Harry and Leo. She had that real love for Harry, although they did not let anything happen between them.

"Now she has a brother-sister relationship with Jack where they look out for each other. With Thomas she has not seen eye to eye at all and he is not the father figure that Leo was but they are gradually gaining a respect for each other.

"Then it is so lovely having Clarissa there because she is another female in the Lyell Centre and I think she has the best insight of all the characters."

Though she once described herself as squeamish, Fox, who comes from an acting family including father Edward, brother Freddie, uncle James and cousin Laurence, has seen two real-life autopsies.

"I am so glad that I have because it definitely helps to give one more confidence," she said.

"The first was a man in his 80s and so I suppose it was more natural in a way but still shocking in that this is where life ends up.

"The second one was a man in his 20s and it was a very untimely death, a shooting, so it was very thought provoking. Whatever is the essence of what makes you you or me me, that has disappeared somewhere and it is absolutely not in that room when you are doing a post mortem."

Real-life pathologists supervise each post mortem done on the show and Fox says that she has become close friends with two of them.

"We have lots and lots of pathological conversations. I asked one friend how long it would take me to be a forensic pathologist and he said 13 years. I would love to have done that job in real life if I had started early.

"But now I have done Silent Witness for so long I am almost up to the 13 years. I could have done it if I had put my mind to it," she laughs.