Emilia Fox and David Caves have spent more than 10 years working alongside one another on BBC’s Silent Witness, with Emilia calling her co-star an “incredibly skilled” actor
Having spent more than a decade working together on Silent Witness, Emilia Fox and David Caves have developed a friendship both on and off the screen.
Now into its 28th series, the hit BBC show is nearing its season finale as Dr Nikki Alexander (Emilia) and Jack Hodgson (David) work against the clock to find a suspect of a shooting. But in between solving crimes, fans have seen the duo navigate the complexities of wedding planning after Jack popped the question to Nikki back in series 27.
And while their characters may be close on-screen, Emilia and Jack also have a friendship away from the cameras. In a heartwarming interview, the Merlin actress, 50, opened up on the 13 years they’ve spent as work colleagues as she called her co-star and “incredibly skilled” actor.
“I trust him more than any other actor I’ve ever worked with. David is kind and good, and he’s a gentleman as well. So that is a real anchor. We’ve stood side by side for so long. How lucky it is to have that friendship, on screen and off screen. I really love working with him,” she told the BBC.
Meanwhile 46-year-old David, also shared his respect for his co-star – who has worked on the show for more than 20 years. “I have tremendous time and love for Emilia. There isn’t anybody who works harder or knows the show better or cares about the scripts as much as she does. I really admire the fact that she still has that care and love,” he said.
Throughout the pair’s 13-year stint on the show together, Emilia and David’s characters had a ‘will they, won’t they’ type relationship dynamic for seasons. However, after years of keeping fans on the edge of their seats, the duo got engaged at the end of series 27.
Speaking about the decision to remove the uncertainty around Nikki and Jack’s relationship by making their romance official, Emilia told Radio Times: “If you’ve worked alongside each other for a decade and they’re both single and they clearly enjoy being together, apart from should they get together because they’re colleagues, what else is in the way?”
She added: “The producers wanted to put them together and see what would happen, and then we wanted to caretake them into not just being broken up [and in an on-off relationship], but to retain the flavour which the audience has seemed to have enjoyed, which is that they can still have that fun and they can still have that relationship.”
But although the ‘will they, won’t they’ aspect of Nikki and Jack’s relationship has well and truly been removed with their engagement, that hasn’t stopped viewers from speculating what could be in store for the couple. As series 28 kicked off earlier this year, fans all made the same prediction regarding their relationship.
In the episode Broken – Part 1, Dr Nikki looked into the disappearance of a barrister named Faith, whose dismembered hand was found in a canal shortly after she went missing. In a bid to find answers, Nikki headed to Faith’s home where she met her son Josh and the pair shared a tender moment – leading calls for Nikki to experience motherhood herself.
“Nikki and another child. Please make this woman a Mum,” wrote one viewer on X. “Beautiful. I hope all the kid references and pregnant women are a sign,” another added.
A third fan said: “SHE’S A NATURAL. Babies, Pregnancies, Children In Every Episode So Far – Please Make It Happen For Them.” A fourth commented: “And once again we see Nikki’s maternal nature and love of children in dealing with Josh. Surely this must be pointing to something.”