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Characters / Silent Witness

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Warning: Contains some unmarked spoilers.

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Main Characters

     Sam Ryan 

Professor Sam Ryan (Amanda Burton)

The original main protagonist. A forensic pathologist; became head of the Lyell Centre in Series 4. Starred on the show until the beginning of Series 8 ("A Time to Heal").

     Leo Dalton 

Dr (later Professor) Leo Dalton (William Gaminara)

A forensic pathologist who becomes the new head of the Lyell Centre after Sam Ryan departs in Series 8. A main character from Series 6 to Series 16.

  • The Alcoholic: He doesn't appear to be a full-blown addict, but he drinks quite a lot after his wife and daughter die and at one point was arrested for drink driving.
  • Berserk Button: Turns out that threatening Leo's girlfriend will get you a knuckle sandwich to the face.
  • Happily Married: Leo is virtually the only character to have a stable, long-term relationship until his wife and daughter died tragically. He later enters a reasonably happy, long-term relationship with Janet Mander.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: In "Greater Love", he is blown up whilst dragging a suicide bomber away from crowds of innocent people, including his team.
  • The Kirk: Usually has this role, balancing out Nikki and Harry though he's occasionally The McCoy, depending on how personally involved in a case he gets.
  • The Lost Lenore: His wife and daughter become this for him after they die in a car accident in Season 9. Their deaths continue to affect him for the rest of his life.
  • Outliving One's Offspring: His daughter Cassie is tragically killed in a car accident in the episode "Ghosts".
  • Parental Substitute: Becomes one to Nikki, whose father abandoned her.
  • Rank Up: Gets promoted from "Doctor" to "Professor" and head of the Lyell Centre after Sam leaves.
  • Team Dad: Becomes one in later seasons.
  • True Companions: With Harry and Nikki in later seasons, at one point even pretty much stating they mean as much to him as his wife and daughter. He also grows close to Jack in Series 16 and sacrifices himself to save him and Nikki.
  • Two First Names

     Harry Cunningham 

Dr Harry Cunningham (Tom Ward)

A forensic pathologist who started out as a student at the Lyell Centre, before becoming fully qualified. A main character from Series 6 to Series 15.

  • Action Survivor: Gets into a fair few fights and dangerous situations, but he's first and foremost a scientist and a nerd so he tends to lose fights and survive thanks to quick thinking or guile rather than any physical skills.
  • Cartwright Curse: His love interests have a tendency to die or otherwise disappear from his life in bad circumstances.
  • Chronic Hero Syndrome: Demonstrated best during the campus shooting in "Shadows", when he decides to leave their hiding place and search for victims while the shooter is still loose because he and Nikki are the only medics in the building.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: His father suffered from bipolar and severe depression, eventually taking his own life when Harry was just 11.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Second only to Clarissa as one of the show's snarkiest characters.
  • Dream-Crushing Handicap: Downplayed. He reveals to Nikki in one episode that he used to want to be a pilot, but found out he didn't qualify due to a mild heart condition. However, this got him very interested in hearts, which ultimately led him to his current, very successful career as a pathologist.
  • Everybody Is Single: Discounting his UST with Nikki, Harry never had a long-term love interest, leaving him free to date or otherwise become involved with women relating to the current murder investigation.
  • Faking the Dead: In the Budapest storyline.
  • Fanservice Pack: Around series 9 he starts sporting Perma-Stubble, and then he grows his hair between series 11 and 12.
  • Headbutt of Love: Occasionally with Nikki.
  • Hot-Blooded: He plays the role of The Spock a lot, but as soon as he gets emotionally involved it becomes clear that he's got a quick temper and he wears his heart on his sleeve.
  • Perma-Stubble: Harry was clean-shaven for his first few seasons, then started sporting stubble and retained that look for the rest of his time on the show. It makes him look more his age, so it's possible he initially made that choice so he'd finally stop being mistaken for a student.
  • Pungeon Master: Harry has a propensity for awful puns, and isn't averse to joking about the dead person of the week. He often uses groan-inducing humour in order to cheer the others up.
  • Put on a Bus: He eventually leaves the show by way of taking a job in an American university.
  • Ship Tease: With Nikki.
  • "Shut Up" Kiss: With (who else?) Nikki.
  • The Spock: Often the most logical and least emotional of the three.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: He can sometimes come across as somewhat cold, detached and blunt, but he has a good heart and can show a more warm and compassionate side at times.
  • Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Not as tall as some examples, but definitely handsome. Combined with Tall, Dark, and Snarky.
  • Trauma Conga Line: The Budapest storyline is one big, long one for Harry.
  • True Companions: With Leo and Nikki, to the point where Leo describes his two colleagues as just as important to him as his (deceased) wife and daughter.
  • Unresolved Sexual Tension: By the bucketful with... Nikki.

     Nikki Alexander 

Dr Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox)

A forensic pathologist specialising in anthropology, who joins the show as a replacement for Sam Ryan in the Series 8 episode "Nowhere Fast". Currently the longest serving character on the show.

  • Calling the Old Man Out: Does this in "Double Dare", pouring her heart out over his abandonment of her and her mother, and utter failure at being a father to her. Whilst Victor is mostly dismissive, it does seem to have some affect on him in the long run, as she willingly keeps in contact with him.
  • The Creon: She explicitly tells Jack at the beginning of Series 17 that she's not interested in running the Lyell Centre and is happy simply being a pathologist.
  • Damsel in Distress: Occasionally becomes one due to her habit of playing detective. However, she's been known to save herself on a number of occasions.
  • Disappeared Dad: Nikki's father walked out on her as a child. Then he did it again when she was an adult.
  • Dislikes the New Guy: She was initially rather cold and passive-aggressive towards Thomas, as he was replacing her Parental Substitute Leo (the manner in which Leo left didn't help matters) and Thomas initially makes a rather awkward first impression. However, by the end of Series 17, she has warmed up to him.
  • English Rose: Although she was born in South Africa, she's lived in England for most of her life and has an English accent. She's usually well-spoken and polite, but with an underlying steeliness. Whilst she dresses somewhat glamorously at times, her style is usually pretty modest. She's classically beautiful and about average height (though she looks taller due to wearing heels a lot), and generally has an air of gentleness and demurity about her.
  • Establishing Character Moment: The first time we meet her, she’s ‘borrowed’ Leo’s mortuary to examine some Iron Age bones and is found by Leo brushing her teeth in the mortuary sink. This establishes both her penchant for impulsivity and how she is very much at home at her job.
  • Everybody Is Single: Her inability to maintain relationships has become a point of humour by the later series. This is finally averted in Season 21, where she begins a Long-Distance Relationship with Matt Garcia, and later, when she begins a relationship with Jack in series 25.
  • Everyone Loves Blondes: Usually a blonde, with the notable exception of Series 12, where she has dyed her hair red, and is regarded as very attractive.
  • Face Death with Dignity: In Awakening, she eventually accepts she is unlikely to be rescued (due to being Buried Alive) and calmly waits for her air to run out, whispering "I'm coming, Mum" (her mother having died when she was a teenager). Luckily, at the last minute she realises she can get out and quickly abandons thoughts of dying calmly to rescue herself.
  • Fanservice Pack: She dyes her hair in between series 11 and 12, and cuts it between series 16 and 17.
  • Headbutt of Love: Occasionally with Harry. Later with Jack.
  • The Heart: Often takes this role within the team.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: In "Awakening", after being kidnapped and Buried Alive by a cartel, she manages to figure out where other kidnapping victims, including her friend Luisa, are being held. Knowing she has only very limited oxygen and phone battery left, she tricks Jack into finding the other hostages first; even though this makes her own chances of rescue before she runs out of air very unlikely, she willingly potentially dooms herself to save the others. Subverted at the last minute though, she is able to figure out she’s not buried underground and escapes by herself.
  • Important Haircut: Downplayed example. After Season 16 (which saw the death of Leo, Nikki's long hair is cut short. She spends much of the first two episodes struggling to come to terms with the fact that Leo is not coming back and adjusting to the changes in her life.
  • Like a Daughter to Me: To Leo.
  • The McCoy: The most prone to getting personally involved in a case and quite emotional, though she sometimes takes the role of The Kirk.
  • Missing Mom: Her mother died of illness when she was a teenager.
  • Near-Death Experience: She's had several, but the most serious ones include receiving a severe head wound that puts her in a coma and results in temporary memory loss in "Hippocratic Oath" and being trapped in a box, apparently underground in "Awakening", the latter of which is particularly traumatic for her.
  • Nice Girl: Nikki is usually very kind and compassionate towards others and usually finds it very difficult to just walk away if someone's in trouble, occasionally overstepping her duties to do so. It's also because of her kindness and empathy that she's often the one who accompanies people to view the bodies of their deceased loved ones, and she treats the dead with as much dignity as she can.
  • Prone to Tears: She can be quite emotional at times and is the most prone to getting personally involved in a case. Probably justified due to the sheer amount of potentially traumatic events she's encountered over her life.
  • Ship Tease: Mostly with Harry, but also with Jack after Harry leaves.
  • "Shut Up" Kiss: With Harry, of course.
  • Silk Hiding Steel: Despite being very feminine and even delicate-looking in her appearance and Prone to Tears, she's actually a lot tougher than she looks. Notable examples include fearlessly standing up to serial killer Arnold Mears and actually getting him to have a Villainous Breakdown, whacking another serial killer with a metal pipe to protect Jack and attempting and eventually succeeding in busting her way out of a coffin after being Buried Alive. She's also obviously not that fazed by blood and gore, seeing as her job involves cutting up corpses and so on.
  • Trauma Conga Line: Nikki's father abandoned her as a kid, her mother died when she was teen, her best friend (and potential suitor) Harry left her to move to America, her surrogate father figure Leo is killed in front of her and she gets framed for murder. And this isn't even counting the amount of times she's been attacked and nearly killed by criminals, culminating in her actually being buried alive in the finale of Series 20, which lands her in therapy in the following series. In series 25, she reveals she spent her twenty-first birthday in hospital delivering her stillborn baby.
  • True Companions: With Harry and Leo. In later series, her and Jack. She also seems to have developed a close bond to Clarissa and Thomas, too, stating in Season 20 that she believes the reason she never focused on having a family is because she already considers her team to be her family.
  • Twisted Ankle: In part two of "River's Edge", she trips and injures her ankle whilst fleeing from a gunman in the woods. Luckily, she has Jack with her to help her get to a hiding spot; he then sneaks up on the gunman and disarms him.
  • Two First Names
  • Unresolved Sexual Tension: Very much so with Harry. And with Jack, though to a lesser extent.
  • Wide-Eyed Idealist: Can slip into this at times, mostly in the earlier seasons.

     Jack Hodgson 

Jack Hodgson (David Caves)

A forensic scientist who replaces Harry Cunningham at the Lyell Centre, beginning in Series 16 ("Change").

  • Always Save the Girl: In the second part of "Awakening", Jack busts cartel hitman El Buitre out of jail to exchange him for Nikki after she's kidnapped, even though a) it's very much illegal and b) he's currently pretty much their only lead on the kidnapping case. To be fair the local police are incompetent at best, at worst extremely corrupt, and their chances of solving the case and bringing anyone to justice are incredibly slim. It goes awry anyway: the cartel kill El Buitre to tie up loose ends and don't even have Nikki, leaving Jack with nothing.
  • Ascended Fan Boy: He's a huge admirer of Leo prior to being hired by the Lyell Centre.
  • Berserk Button: Jack has major issues with people hurting women (specifically vulnerable women) or children. Particularly noticeable in the episode "In A Lonely Place", where he pummels a guy who admits to hitting, then insults, a woman who was recently found murdered.
  • Big Brother Instinct: Inverted example in "Fraternity", where Jack goes to some extreme lengths, potentially jeopardising his career, to protect his older brother Ryan and prove him innocent when he's arrested for murder. It doesn't end so well...
  • Dark and Troubled Past: He was forced to break up with his high school girlfriend after she got expelled and later blamed himself after finding out she'd died of an overdose, he became estranged from his brother Ryan due to being forced to testify against him in court, resulting in him being convicted of GBH when it was actually Jack's fault, as he injured the other guy trying to protect his brother, but Ryan insisted on taking the blame and he quit his last job because he suspected but couldn't prove that the cop he was in a relationship with was using him to tamper with his forensic samples to frame her suspect and get promoted.
  • Distressed Dude: In "True Love Waits", he tries to take on a serial killer to protect Nikki and a rescued victim, but gets overpowered and non-fatally stabbed. Luckily, Nikki is there to save him.
  • Everybody Is Single: Clarissa frequently teases him about his apparent inability to get a girlfriend and none of his love interests last long.
    Clarissa: Jack, are you lonely? Is that the problem? Couldn't you have not got a dog, or a fish? Or a girlfriend?
    Jack: Below the belt!
    Clarissa: Well, did you have to get a rat?
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Has shades of this with Ryan. He is a successful forensic scientist, whilst Ryan started a fight with a guy over a woman and beat him so badly he did time for GBH. Of course, it later turns out that Jack actually broke the other guy's jaw with a single punch and Ryan took the blame to protect him. Then again, Jack's never coerced a teenager into having a sexual relationship with an older man to get money…
  • Genius Bruiser: A forensic scientist who does MMA as a hobby.
  • Guilt Complex: It's strongly hinted he tends to blame himself when things go wrong, even if he wasn't truly at fault, and holds onto it for a long time. Case in point, he still blames himself for his high school girlfriend dying of an overdose decades after it happened. He's also consumed with guilt when Nikki is kidnapped in "Awakening".
  • Hidden Depths: Apparently knows how to Riverdance.
  • Hot-Blooded: Occasionally comes across as this (and gets himself in trouble because of it), usually if he's very emotionally involved in a case.
    • This however nearly get's him in serious trouble in "In Plain Sight" when he confronts the Killer Of The Week a firearms officer on a whim and get's injured.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Platonic example with Clarissa.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: On the few occasions he Takes A Level in Jerkass, he becomes this.
  • Manly Tears: Sheds a few in "Fraternity", due to finding out his brother had manipulated a teenage girl into sleeping with a man to blackmail him for money, inadvertently resulting in her death, after he had gone to great lengths, put his job on the line and nearly gotten himself killed to prove his innocence. He then has the nerve to request Jack do nothing, because 'family'. He's also near tears a few times in "Awakening" Part 2, due to Nikki being kidnapped.
  • Near-Death Experience: In Fraternity, he is hit by a car, beaten and strangled, ending up in a coma in hospital. He survives, though his team actually made a point of doing a 'pre-mortem' on him whilst he was waiting for surgery, just in case he didn't make it and the operation destroyed any evidence.
  • Old Flame Fizzle: With DI Chrissy Reed in "Trust". They were once in a relationship but broke up because Jack accused her of using him to tamper with forensic evidence to get promoted. They spend much of the first part being passive-aggressive or outright hostile to each other, but by the second part, they seem to have warmed up to each other again and Jack even flirts with her. Then he finds out she's sleeping with her superior...
  • Percussive Therapy: He admits to Nikki that one of the main reasons he likes cage fighting is because he feels it "takes away the guilt" and the accompanying anger. When he gets really ticked off, his usual response is to hit something - usually a wall, furniture or a punching bag, though occasionally other people too. During the case of "In a Lonely Place", which really pushes his Berserk Button, he spends some time down at a shooting range as well until Nikki persuades him to talk about what's bothering him instead.
  • Platonic Life-Partners: With Clarissa.
  • Police Are Useless: Generally has this opinion, occasionally clashing with them as a result. Considering the fact that he strongly suspected his detective ex-girlfriend of being a Dirty Cop who was using him to mess with his evidence, it's not entirely unjustified. He also gets on with cops he sees as being genuinely competent and caring about the public (and he warms up very quickly to DI Parks in "Squaring the Circle").
  • Ship Tease: With Nikki, until they eventually get a Relationship Upgrade.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Harry Cunningham, although there are some notable differences - Harry was usually the most logical and rational team member, whilst Jack tends to get more emotional. Jack is also a forensic scientist, not a pathologist, and a true Action Hero as opposed to Harry's Action Survivor. Essentially, he fills Harry's role in the show as the mostly unattached attractive male character who has UST with Nikki, but has a very different role in the actual Lyell Centre team.
  • Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Good-looking, dark-haired and over 6ft. Can be Tall, Dark, and Snarky at times.
  • Thicker Than Water: Comes up in Fraternity, where he puts his job on the line to try to prove his brother's innocence in a murder case. Ultimately defied, however, as Jack turns Ryan in to the cops after finding out he coerced the teenage victim into underage sex to blackmail someone, even after Ryan begged him not to on the grounds of this trope.
  • Trademark Favourite Food: Apparently, pizza. In "True Loves Waits", he states he never passes up an opportunity for pizza when they suggest getting one for dinner and in "Fraternity", Nikki brings pizza over to cheer him up, prompting him to state "You've found my weakness." The fans seemed to have jumped on this, as many Fanfics based around Jack mention his apparent love of pizza or feature at least one scene of him ordering/eating pizza.
  • True Companions: With Clarissa, to the point where he refused to accept a job offer unless Clarissa was hired too. Also with Nikki, by Season 19.
  • Unresolved Sexual Tension: Has a bit with Nikki. He flirts with her, gets jealous and snarky when other guys show her attention and clearly cares deeply about her.

     Clarissa Mullery 

Clarissa Mullery (Liz Carr)

A forensic examiner and Jack's lab partner, who joins the team in Series 16 ("Change").

  • Cunning Linguist: She is fluent in several foreign languages including Japanese.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: It's eventually revealed that Clarissa was bullied at school for her condition. On one occasion when her mother was late picking her up, another girl told Clarissa that she must've killed herself because she didn't want to deal with her anymore. She admits to Jack that this and presumably other incidents caused her to fear being abandoned.
  • Deadpan Snarker: She's introduced snarking at a security guard who mistakenly thinks she's lost.
  • Genius Cripple: Has arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, requiring her to use a wheelchair, but it doesn't stop her from being a great forensic examiner.
  • Happily Married: Revealed to be this in Season 20. It was actually hinted at in previous seasons, as she always wore a wedding ring, but not confirmed until the twentieth season.
  • Hidden Depths: A sad example. In Series 21's "One Day", it's revealed that all her life Clarissa has feared the people she loves will abandon her because of her condition; this also adds a new layer of meaning to her Deadpan Snarker attitude, suggesting she may be a bit of a Stepford Snarker.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Platonic example with Jack.
  • The Lab Rat: Technically, all the main characters are this, but Clarissa fits the trope most closely, often covering the more technical aspects of forensics and rarely leaving the Lyell Centre.
  • Platonic Life-Partners: With Jack.
  • Promotion to Opening Titles: In Season 19.
  • Put on a Bus: Leaves the Lyell Centre for a new job in Season 23.
  • Sickeningly Sweethearts: With her husband Max from time to time.
  • True Companions: With Jack, and possibly Nikki.

     Thomas Chamberlain 

Dr Thomas Chamberlain (Richard Lintern)

A forensic pathologist who takes over as head of the Lyell Centre in Series 17 ("Commodity").

  • Bait-and-Switch Tyrant: Downplayed. He at first comes across as a bit of an insensitive Obstructive Bureaucrat, especially in comparison to his predecessor Leo, but quickly establishes himself to be a caring man with strong morals and very competent at his job.
  • Da Chief: Though he's head pathologist at the Lyell Centre rather than a policeman, he fits this trope sometimes, yelling at or lecturing Nikki and Jack to rein it in, do things by the book or play nicely with the cops, and he even threatens to fire Jack in "Fraternity".
  • Digging Yourself Deeper: Has a habit of doing this.
  • Everybody Is Single: Double subverted in his first season on the show. He was married with a daughter, but reveals in the final episode of the season that his wife has left him. He's had about one Temporary Love Interest since.
  • Innocently Insensitive: Sometimes strays into this.
  • The Leader: An overlap of Levelheaded and Charismatic.
  • Papa Wolf: Towards his daughter, Rosie, to the point where his ex-wife complains about him interfering in her private life in an effort to protect Rosie. He eventually realises he has to rein his behaviour in.
  • Sucksessor: Seen as one by the team for Leo, especially by Nikki (due to her close relationship to Leo), though only for the first few episodes of Series 17. They eventually warm up to him.
  • Team Dad: Can sometimes across as one, though he doesn't have quite the same rapport with the team as Leo did and can be unintentionally insensitive at times. He comes across as more of a Reasonable Authority Figure, if anything.

     Cara Connelly 

Cara Connelly (Rhiannon May)

Jack's niece, who works at the Lyell Centre part time while studying. She appears as a guest in Series 24 before joining the Lyell in Series 26.

  • Alliterative Name: Cara Connelly.
  • Bullying the Disabled: "Grievance Culture" shows that some of her classmates make fun of her disability, although they think she doesn't realize it.
  • Convenient Photograph: Her speciality is analysing photos and video footage.
  • Deafness in Media: She is Deaf (as is her actress) and communicates in British Sign Language.
  • Disappeared Dad: Her dad Ryan hasn't been around much, due to his legal troubles and on-off relationship with her mother; and is currently in jail.
  • Informed Attribute: Jack describes her as temperamental, although she rarely demonstrates this onscreen, and only when reasonably provoked.
  • Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Jack initially believed he may have been Cara's father, due to having an affair with her mother while his brother Ryan was away. Ultimately subverted when a DNA test proves Ryan really is her father.
  • Rose-Haired Sweetie: Fits this trope in Series 27 where her hair is dyed pink.

     Velvy Schur 

Velvy Schur (Alistair Michael)

A young man who joins the Lyell Centre as an assistant anatomical pathology technologist in Season 26.

  • Dark and Troubled Past: He grew up in a secluded, very conservative Jewish community and was ostracised by his family when he chose to leave.
  • Disappeared Dad: He's this for his own children, since his wife considers him to have abandoned the family and won't let him see them.
  • Everybody Is Single: Played with. His wife Rivka wouldn't leave their community with him, so although the relationship is over, he's still legally married to her and his religion requires he continue to provide for her and their children. He seems to still hold out hope of reconciling with her, until "Invisible" where Rivka files for divorce.
  • Fish out of Water: In some episodes, due to him coming from a very different background than the rest of the team. In "Penitent", he tries to preserve a corpse's blood for the family to bury; not realizing that this isn't common practice outside of Judaism. In "Star", where the Lyell Centre investigates an influencer's murder at a music festival, Velvy doesn't know anything about either festivals or social media.
  • Hidden Depths: Between seasons 26 and 27, his knowledge of British Sign Language has improved enough for him to have a capable conversation with Cara without her having to lip-read or use her interpreter.
  • Horrible Housing: "Invisible" shows that he has been living in a very run-down bedsit with no heating or energy because he's still paying expenses for his wife and children. He ends up being invited to move in with Jack.
  • Important Haircut: Gets one at the end of "Star."
  • No Social Skills: He is awkward and has a strange sense of what's socially appropriate. Justified by his coming from a community that has limited contact with the outside world.

     Gabriel Folukoya 

Professor Gabriel Folukoya (Aki Omoshaybi)

A pathologist, professor of criminology, and the current head of the Lyell Centre; who takes over in Season 26.

  • Ambiguously Christian: In "Familiar Faces" he knows the story of Jesus and St Christopher very well, although there is no other indication of him being religious.
  • Gentleman and a Scholar: He is charming and well-liked by his colleagues, both at the Lyell and his university.
  • Hidden Depths: "Grievance Culture" shows that he's aware of how much of himself he has sacrificed because of his job; and takes up boxing with Jack in an effort to work through his issues.
  • Married to the Job: Between his roles as head of the Lyell Centre and professor at a prestigious university (promoted to Dean of Criminology in Series 27), he doesn't have much time for a personal life.
  • No Sympathy: He demonstrates signs of this. In "Grievance Culture", when a woman maliciously accuses Jack of sexual harassment, Gabriel is prepared to throw the book at him and won't listen despite it being clearly false. In "Invisible" the team discovers Velvy is living in poverty, and discusses how they could help him; Gabriel simply says they shouldn't get involved in Velvy's problems.
  • Sharp-Dressed Man: He is normally seen in an immaculate suit and tie. In "Grievance Culture" Nikki admires his smart shoes.

Supporting / Recurring Characters

     Janet Mander 

Professor Janet Mander (Jaye Griffiths)

A criminal psychologist who first appeared in "Death's Door" and becomes Leo's Love Interest.

  • Nice Girl: Is very sweet and caring, and a good influence on Leo.
  • The Profiler: Janet is a criminal psychologist, which comes in very handy at times.
  • Put on a Bus: She apparently leaves town after Leo breaks up with her.
  • Satellite Love Interest: Downplayed. Her character mainly exists to be Leo's Love Interest, but she actually has characterisation outside of loving Leo and her skills as a profiler also become important to the plot occasionally.
  • Tragic Dream: Downplayed, in that it's not completely unachievable, but having a family with Leo. She and Leo talked about adopting a baby together, until Leo breaks down and admits he only agreed to make her happy and is still not over the death of his daughter, Cassie. Janet accepts his decision, but is clearly disappointed and it apparently remains a sore point for them. In the episode where they break up, Janet, sensing she's losing Leo, tearfully tells him she no longer cares about having children...which, judging by her reaction, may be Blatant Lies.

     Victor Alexander 

Victor Alexander (Leigh Lawson)

Nikki Alexander's estranged father; a recurring character.

     Ryan Kelvin 

Ryan Kelvin (Owen McDonnell)

Jack Hodgson's estranged older brother, who first appears in "Fraternity" as a murder suspect.

  • Ambiguous Situation: It's not specified if he's Jack full brother or half-brother; when the Lyell Centre finds his DNA their tests state it could belong to either a full sibling or half sibing.
  • Big Brother Instinct: It’s revealed he took the rap when Jack inadvertently broke a man’s jaw trying to defend Ryan in a fight, as Ryan started the fight in the first place.
  • Blackmail Backfire: His blackmail scheme inadvertently results in Katie being killed, he being accused of killing her, and by extent his stepdaughter being killed (which he is also suspected of) and his brother almost being murdered too.
    • He also tries to use emotional blackmail on Jack; when he realises he's figured out the truth, he asks him to keep quiet on the grounds they're brothers and he wants to start his life over. Unfortunately for him, Jack ultimately decides to do what he he believes is right and goes straight to the cops.
  • Blatant Lies: As it turns out, all the times he told Jack and the cops he wasn’t involved with Katie Bowman’s murder.
  • Disappointing Older Sibling: Big time to Jack, especially by the end of "Fraternity".
  • Driven to Suicide: Believing everyone he loves has abandoned him and he's going down for murder, he attempts to cut his own wrists in Jack's shower. Luckily the cops get there in time to save him…though unluckily, it further convinces them he's guilty and was trying to escape justice.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Has shades of this with Jack. He started a fight with a guy over a woman and beat him so badly he did time for GBH, whilst Jack is a successful forensic scientist. Of course, it later turns out that Jack actually broke the other guy's jaw with a single punch and Ryan took the blame to protect him. Then again, Jack's never coerced a teenager into having a sexual relationship with an older man to get money…
  • Kick the Dog: After it's revealed he got Katie to sleep with Nash to blackmail him, resulting in her being murdered by his business partner to keep her quiet, he goes to visit his younger brother Jack in hospital – where he has just woken up from a coma Katie’s killer put him in for trying to prove Ryan’s innocence – and demands he keep quiet because they’re ‘family’.
  • Morality Pet: His girlfriend Lizzie and stepdaughter Hannah are arguably this to him. His brother Jack may be one for him too, but considering what he puts Jack through, he’s not afraid to Kick the Morality Pet. The same could apply to poor Hannah, who’s murder he is inadvertently responsible for.
  • Parental Substitute: Tries to be one to Hannah.
  • Put on a Bus to Hell: He’s last seen catching a bus as part of his escape to Ireland, smuggling a gun as part of a debt to a prison contact.
  • Wicked Stepfather: Averted at first. He appears to be a good father-figure to Hannah and they get on well. However, he did inadvertently get her best friend murdered, and grabs and shoves her against a wall when they get into an argument. He is shown to be shocked and devastated when he learns she’s dead, though.
  • Would Hurt a Child: It starts to look like he did indeed kill Katie and possibly his own stepdaughter. Subverted, as it turns out he didn’t kill them and is genuinely distressed by their deaths (especially Hannah’s)…though he did coerce Katie (who is fifteen years old) into filming herself sleeping with the much older Christy Nash to blackmail him; he also rather roughly grabs Hannah and yells in her face.

     Max Thorndyke 

Max Thorndyke (Daniel Weyman)

Clarissa's digital forensics expert husband.

     Matt Garcia 

Matt Garcia (Michael Landes)

An American ambassador and Nikki's recurring Love Interest, first introduced in Series 21 ("A Special Relationship").

  • Dark and Troubled Past: Not excessively dark, though it's revealed he had a brother who drowned when they were young, and he still wonders to this day if he could've done something to save him.
  • Distressed Dude: He gets kidnapped at the end of the first part of "A Special Relationship" and is rescued in the next episode, much to Nikki's relief.
  • Long-Distance Relationship: He has to return to the US after getting a new job offer, while Nikki wants to stay in the UK because of her own career, but they maintain their relationship, frequently calling or skyping each other, and flying out to see each other a few times a year. Although Nikki expresses some sadness he can't always physically be there (and vice versa), they're relatively happy with the arrangement.
  • Survivor Guilt: For most of the story "Deadhead", he acts rather strangely, being emotionally distant and standoffish with Nikki after his friend Jonathan dies in a plane crash. He reveals to Jack at the end that it's partly because he was actually supposed to be on the plane as well, but he rescheduled the flight so he could spend more time with Nikki, which he can't bring himself to tell her.
  • Temporary Love Interest: Zigzagged. He looks as though he's just going to be the latest in a long string of boyfriends for Nikki, but he's adamant about making it work with her and even though he lives and works primarily in America, they make a lot of effort to stay in contact and visit each other. They remain in a happy, committed relationship through Series 22, but then break up and Nikki eventually gets together with Jack.

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