An impressive line-up of guest stars for the new series of Silent Witness has been announced – including EastEnders star Samantha Womack, Doctor Who actress Ingrid Oliver, and 007's former Miss Moneypenny, Samantha Bond.

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Nikki (Emilia Fox), Jack (David Caves), Clarissa (Liz Carr) and Thomas (Richard Lintern) are all set to return to the Lyell Centre in January 2019 for five new stories, each told across two episodes. They will be joined by some very familiar faces.

Samantha Bond in Silent Witness

The first of the stories, titled Two Spirits, begins when a trans man is murdered and a trans activist is kidnapped in two cases that appear to be linked. Guest stars include Andrew Knott, Heather Peace, Johann Myers, and Jemima Rooper.

Joining the cast for episodes three and four are Samantha Womack, Dan Li, Jo Martin and Hara Jannas, as well as James Bond star Colin Salmon as an inspirational headteacher who resolves to confront the drug dealers preying on his community after a teenage boy dies in a meth lab explosion.

The next couple of episodes will see the return of Michael Landes as Matt Garcia, as Nikki has some news she desperately wants to share with him...

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Matt and Nikki in Silent Witness

Back at the lab, a collection of dismembered body parts, covered in intricate Japanese tattoos, have been found in a Brighton waste dump and the team must search for clues to lead them to the killer. Also starring are Samantha Bond, Sebastian Arnesto and Fisayo Akinade.

This will be followed by a two-parter titled Deathmaker, when a car-bomb attack in a quiet suburban street brings back unwelcome memories for Jack as evidence points to the involvement of a Northern Irish terror group, long thought inactive.

Guest stars include Derry Girls actor Ian McElhinney, Corrie's Ray Fearon and newcomer Avita Jay.

The final story of the 22nd series will be titled The Ties That Bind, and will feature guest cast including Ingrid Oliver, Art Malik, Adelle Leonce, Kiran Sonia Sawar and Dervla Kirwan.

And in episodes nine and ten, the spotlight is on Nikki as she is humiliated in court when a brutal cross-examination suggests she made a grievous error.

The BBC says: "As she looks back at past cases and battles with self-doubt, Nikki struggles to trust her own instincts when she disagrees with Thomas over a cause of death. When another case is marred by apparent contamination of evidence, the team start to question if the problem lies elsewhere..."

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Silent Witness will return on Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th January at 9pm on BBC1


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