Tom’s much-loved character, Dr Harry Cunningham, will depart this month after 10 years in the BBC crime drama series.
(Warning: article contains spoilers).
Harry will bow out in a two-part episode when he finally makes a go of things with sidekick Dr Nikki Alexander – played by Emilia Fox – after a tortured love affair.
They will move in together but their happiness is shortlived because forensic pathologist Harry decides to move to New York to take up a professorship.
BBC drama series supremo Kate Harwood heaped praise on Tom, 41, who is moving on to new projects.
She said: “Silent Witness owes a great debt to the talented Tom Ward who has given us our beloved Harry with wit, style and passion for 10 seasons.
“We’ll miss him so much and wish him all the best.”
Tom’s final episode features a storyline involving child sex grooming and it was postponed out of sensitivity while the Rochdale paedophile ring was dealt with by the courts.
The show’s six million viewers will be seeing two new cast members in the 16th series which will be screened early next year.
Rising theatre star David Caves joins as forensic scientist and part-time cage fighter Jack Hodgson.
Writer Tim Prager said: “I felt the show could use a shot of testosterone – he is intuitive rather than academic. His volatility adds something different to the other characters, who are more cerebral.
“He is impulsive, full of feeling, emotionally volatile, warm and clever. Jack is like Nikki’s naughty younger brother.”
David said he was “surprised and delighted” to land the role.
He added: “It is a big change for me having just done theatre up to this point, but it’s very exciting to play a new part.”
And in a first for a prime-time BBC1 series, his lab assistant Clarissa Mullery will be played by a wheelchair user, Liz Carr.
Comedian Liz, who presents on the BBC’s Ouch! podcast, said: “I’m loving playing a character who’s witty, smart and sarcastic.
“It makes me giggle that I’m a forensics expert.
“At school I couldn’t study chemistry and physics because the labs weren’t wheelchair accessible. Ah, the irony.”
Source: The Mirror
I'm going to die. That's all I can say, I've never been so depressed in my life...
ReplyDeleteI agree!! It doesn't make any sense at all considering ATIFIL was supposed to be part of season 15. Having just watched part 1 of the episode and others have seen it too I dont get how it's his final episodes.
ReplyDeleteAny chance this could all be a mistake!!
I think that part of the reason it was taken off-air was to allow for a certain amount of re-editing to occur. Those of us who have seen the episode will know that Harry and Nikki do not "make a go of it". However, there are those 'missing scenes' that we saw in promotional pictures but not in the episode, which could also suggest that maybe they filmed an alternate ending, so to speak, but weren't sure whether to use it or not.
ReplyDeleteBut what about the S16 Ep Changes. The summary of which has been reported as this: "Nikki and Leo are tasked to investigate when a badly decomposed body results in an outbreak of a deadly species of moth. Meanwhile, Harry is tasked with providing evidence in a twenty-year-old unsolved murder. However, he soon discovers a link between both of the team’s cases, a link which could change his life forever.."
DeleteSurely these will be his last eps. Not ATIFIL
And as you can read in Wiki now: 'Harry' is replaced...
DeleteReally sad news about Tom Ward leaving silent witness.The series just won't be the same without him.Seems as though he won't be in series sixteen either then.Don't know how they kept that so secret.
ReplyDeleteand WHY??
DeleteSorta figured when I heard they had cast new people - still a big shock. Will be a massive blow to the show :(
ReplyDeleteThis is the most depressing thing that has happened, EVER. I'm gonna go cry by myself now :(
ReplyDeleteNoooooooo I need hARRY nIKKI FIXES I THINK SERIES 8 THRU 15 dvds will be woorn out
ReplyDeleteAttention all die-hard Tom Ward fans. Tom has kindly agreed to come and open the Charlbury Street Fair in September! http://www.charlburystreetfair.org/news.html Come and see him in person!
ReplyDeleteAw, a shame but totally understandable that Tom would want to move on after ten years. He made Harry very believable and his on-screen chemistry with Nikki was legendary.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I am looking forward to something a bit different both from Silent Witness and Tom Ward. It'll be great to see Tom portray other parts and Silent Witness was getting a bit "same-y". I know this will be sacrilege for die-hard fans (I am one too, having watched all 15 series). However, it is stretching credibility that a workplace would have the same personnel, in the same roles for so long.
Harry was chafing under Leo's supervision in s15 and was ready to move on. I also think that Harry & Nikki missed their moment and the on-going "will they, won't they" diminished Nikki as a character. Harry leaving and the introduction of new characters will, hopefully, shake things up and guarantee that we can enjoy Silent Witness for a few years to come.
I wish Tom Ward all the best and thank him for what he brought to Silent Witness over the years.
I've seen And Then I Fell in Love - got it from iTunes before they pulled it - and neither of the two things suggested in this article actually happen. He moves in with Nikki, but not to make a go of things and there's no suggestion of him leaving to go to New York. Confused.
ReplyDeleteexactly! I don't know where 'the mirror' get their information, as the new york and 'making a go' of it stuff is not in the BBC press release!!!
ReplyDeleteThey could have choosen to leave it out, you never know they can actually write Tom out in this totally unoriginal, depressing and out of character way. But let me just say this, if 'the mirror' faked their information about SW to get some attention (cause lets face it, that's not the best magazine out there)....I have a feeling they f*cked with the wrong people. I doubt the BBC would like this and I sure as hell know Tom/Harry...Nikki&Harry fans would be pissed as well. Heads will roll. LOL
DeleteIf Tom is leaving it's understandable, the writting sucked last season so if he can do something else which is better as an actor than I wish him all the luck. Having said that, I never heard of Tom before SW. And I only started to watch SW because of nikki/Harry. SW without them would make me stop watching it and I doubt I'd ever hear from Tom after it as well. So that kinda makes me sad.
ReplyDeleteAlso from a storyline perspective, Harry leaving Nikki (a girl with abandonment issues) just after she lost her dad is kinda douchy especially if you know she loves you. Also for Harry to give up on love for a career isn't really in line with his character...he doesn't wanna be his dad....and he had offers before and turned them down (season 8/9 he was asked to go to the USA for a professorship as well remember)...so if they really wanted to write Harry out...For the love of God think of something believable and not something you already wrote a couple of seasons ago!!!!,'real original people'. So this ending....having Nikki/harry never hock up and he just doesn't love her at all and leaves...well would be the last nail in the covin for me. Which would kinda make Harry a lying a-hole in the end. But if this is the case, it's probably a good thing Harry leaves and isn't killed off....that way when Harry/Tom doesn't like the way his career is going he can always come back. But if he does they pretty much fucked up his character though. Harry would never just give up on Nikki and only think of his career....also he loves his mom, why leave the last remaining person from his family as well?
In The Prodigal, he's got a job offer as well... and a very good one too...
DeleteExactly, he has always turned them down, what changed! The only thing I can think of that would be in line with the character Harry, is that the path he was going on with Nikki scared the crap out of him (too much like his family and afraid if he doesn't go after his goals he will regret it and be po-ed/depressed like his dad was...and resend Nikki for it) so like he always does when they get to close...he runs. That way Harry does love her and isn't a total douche in the end. And Nikki wants him to be happy so she lets him go. Ok this storyline sucks...we can all agree on that one... we can't change this so... so be it. The only things that are of interest to me now is THE WAY THEY MAKE HARRY LEAVE. The following things are of interest to me, without this I'm never watching it again!!;
Delete- DO NOT make Nikki date someone else. She loves harry let her be sad/miss him.The new guy may try and cheer her up but in a little bother NOT LOVE INTEREST kinda way. One cheacky look from him towards her and I am zapping!
- DO NOT make Nikki get a message from Harry that he married someone or something like that, cause that's just cruel..not just towards Nikki but also towards the harry/nikki fans.
- When Silent Witness ends (and lets face it, the way the writting is going and the lose of Harry, it's coming)...when it ends...BRING BACK HARRY. At least have those 2 end up together. Make Harry run after his careergoals a bit....be his dad...and realise he is the biggest idiot known to man and come back to Nikki with his tail between his legs. Knowing what he wants and acting on it now. Have Harry grow the f*ck up and be a man and go after what he wants!
- When Harry leaves, give us a goodbye...don't just write 'harry left' in between the lines and call it a day. He was a huge character...give him a goodbye....give Nikki a goodbye. Give the fans a scene to cry our fre*kin eyes out about.
Oh well I realise that the writters will do what they want so this really was pointless. Especially cause this current storyline already sounds 'so original'. 'Ohh good writting at it's finest'. Why can't they just let them hock up, have harry get a TEMPORARY job offer, have Nikki be knocked up but not tell harry (so that we all know they'll be together in the end they just don't know it themselves) and have him return. Yeah that's probably not happening. I have a feeling I'll stop watching SW within the first 3 episodes. :-(
Man why can't I watch one couple on TV that's in a healthy and stable relationship. Nikki/harry had such promiss, why do all writters feel the need to end relationships in heartbreak? What kind of message is that sending the public?
Tom Ward made that show, he is the only believable character in it, im sad he is going, if he is. Plus I understand hes need to do other things. Good luck Tom, maybe you will hit it big on your own like our own Mr B Cumberbatch. I only watched this show for Toms performances, so this will stop me from watching it full stop now...sad very sad
ReplyDeleteWas soooo depressed when I read this yesterday and (blushes) even cried (!) have got a grip today thankfully. There is something about this that feels like a cruel practical joke but as its a BBC press release I don't think we can just assume its bad gutter press journalism sadly. I agree with most people on here that its completely understandable that Tom wants to move on, he's made an amazing contribution to the show but 10 years is a huge achievement and it makes sense to move on while he's still at the top of his game. Having said that both he and Emilia have said several times that they felt Harry and Nikki should be together and if Harry really leaves as has been described it all feels a bit slap dash and badly thought through. I hope they don't just gloss over what would in reality be a huge loss to Nikki and pretend after one episode that Harry never existed. The only slight silver lining would be if they did use some extra scenes when they finally air ATIFIL which would explain the 'fridge scene' because leaving it at the end of the version I've seen and then leaping into series 16 with Harry already gone would be clumsy at best and show a complete disreagrd for realistic continuity that surely the bbc owe to their diehard SW fans.
ReplyDeleterant over!
I guess we'll never know the real reason or chronology in this all. I'm pretty sure his decision to leave must have been taken around the making of ATIFL. Remember this was the 2nd episode to be. If it was aired as planned, we would have been very disappointed with all the remaining episodes where there was no more Harry/Nikki banter at all, even more: no more Harry Nikki scenes at all. I don't think the BBC is to blame. Only one stupid character and that is Harry himself. Thx a lot for letting us believe for 8 years it would Nikki, the real one, in the end. Yeah right.
ReplyDeleteExactly! If you truely love someone you wouldn't leave. Which would make the last 8 years, Harry stringing along Nikki. 'Great'.
DeleteNikki (Emilie) make that series GREAT - but we will miss Harry (Tom Ward)
ReplyDeleteI. AM. DEVASTATED.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, now I hope Emilia goes with him. I'd rather have imagined and together H/N than Nikki with someone else! Waaaaah!
Yeah they made them kinda not whole without the other, we saw that last season... and we saw that when harry 'died'. Nikki living life without Harry and them not being each others endgame just isn't right. So they might write it that they are doing he long distance thing or something and he'll be back in the end. Cause if they make nikki just move on...it makes them unbelieveble/unwatcheble.
DeleteHow this episode was supposed to be aired second, but it was moved and he was in all the other episodes ... It doesn't make sense. WHY ? :'(
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning I watched this series because I like crime/investigation -like stories. it was just a random show, like any other.
ReplyDeleteThen with "Body of work" Silent Witness really got my attention. I am a girl, and yes, I like those romantic fluffy movies with lots of flirtations...
Then I started watching for the Harry-Nikki interactions. I like there flirts, the way they talk with each other, the 'we are more than friends, but are afraid to go down that road, so we just flirt' -stuf.
I always wanted to see more of that, but I knew that once the writers would get them together, the magic would be lost.
I am glad they didn't.
I am sad Tom is leaving the show. But I will watch "And then I fell in love" tonight. And I hope Nikki and Harry will have a decent ending together. I hope they will find love, and that Nikki won't have to become that old prune. I hope they will work things out, finally tell each other how they really feel, and not leave things unsaid.
I will follow season 16 for a while. I like Emilia's acting. I just hope the show won't feel 'lost' without Harry by her side.
Emilia Fox/ Nikki could get to 5 times your age and never be an old prune. And it's fucking series 16 not season you goon. There are 4 seasons and none of them is a television show.
Deletetotal overreaction!
DeleteCan't wait to see my cousin, David Caves in Silent Witness in 2013!!1
ReplyDeletewhat a disgraceful show that was last night, i usually like the storylines of this show, however not only was i offended i know lots of others were to, racist fucks, in a real world a load of white football hooligans would pour in there and smash there faces in
ReplyDeleteWhy would you put that on telly in England, we can see the newz for that kinda thing! would white people get away with making a show where we are pimping out asian girls or whoever, and treating them like shit, and then fucking showing it, of course we would not, there would be public out cry!
All i can say is this show is inaccurate in terms of everyday life. I am offended by this and would love to meet the producers of the show and ask them what the fuck they are doing? This was based on an event? Then if thats the case i think all the white hooligans in England should get together and go and fuck these pussy fucking cowards up there arses, eye for an eye, then smash there pussy faces in, anyway wanted to say that
Moron child, go back to your video games and leave programmes like this for grown ups.
DeleteI am afraid I found that episode all too realistic. The tensions between the Asian and Western attitude to women are very real and this sort of thing is one of the results.
DeleteAs far as the somewhat graphic suggestions for retribution that is also very real - it is called the BNP
'AnonymousMon Aug 20, 04:50:00 PM
ReplyDeletewhat a disgraceful show that was last night, i usually like the storylines of this show........'
What a charming person you are. There are vile people in all sectors of society; of all religions and skin colours, just as portrayed in the programme... and shown by your posting.
I don't quite understand when/how Harry left. I watched the episode on iPlayer and I'm not sure if part of the episode was cut off. Could sommeone who watched it 'live' tell me what happened at the very end so I can work out if I missed the end? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHe didn't leave - just like he didn't have a tortured love affair with Nikki. The original article was misinformed. Whether he leaves in the next episode, or just never appears again which would be very odd, we will have to wait to discover.
DeleteThanks for the clarification, at least I know I didn't miss anything in the episode or have major short term memory issues :-)
DeleteRuth FrenchTue Aug 07, 12:47:00 AM
ReplyDeleteBut what about the S16 Ep Changes. The summary of which has been reported as this: "Nikki and Leo are tasked to investigate when a badly decomposed body results in an outbreak of a deadly species of moth. Meanwhile, Harry is tasked with providing evidence in a twenty-year-old unsolved murder. However, he soon discovers a link between both of the team’s cases, a link which could change his life forever.."
Surely these will be his last eps. Not ATIFIL
Mary Littlewood, Sheffield. Aug 22. 18.20pm
I agree with Ruth wholeheartely - I was absolutely gutted at the sudden ending and as we have read, surely there should be an explanation - Harry cannot just suddenly disappear into thin air when Series 16 starts, or perhaps they maybe having flashbacks showing his long-time love finally happen and then depart. Should not be just left in mid air.
Please can someone let me know if we will see the scenes mentioned at some point I will really miss Tom too and thought his acting - especially in 'Bloodlines' (last Series) was so 'real' I was so upset, just as if a member of my own family had died. So well done.
Tom will be missed very much, love The character of Nikki but it wont be the same without Harry.
ReplyDeleteThe last episode makes no sense with regards to making a go of things with nikki, that's not why he moved in, they could have at least written him out with a better explanation than seeing or hearing nothing about it in the show, and then to read he wont even be exiting in the new series. Just vanished
so sad. Good luck Tom
Will miss Tom but look forward to seeing him in everything he tries next.He created fantastic dramatic, intelligence and sexual tension.
ReplyDeleteshocking exit so nasty and undeserving for Harry, the supporting character was very good at least Harry had companionship. I felt depressed and had to keep reminding my self the TV character of Harry is not real, great job,Leo was also great in that episode.
I will still watch Silent Witness. Got to admit I didn't like the female original pathologist she was so serious it was comical and lacking in credibility no wonder French and Saunders had fun with that.
Best wishes from Canada to all those involved in Silent Witness TV series.
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The writing in this new season is dire. It's beginning to fade for me. Not just since he left but something seems to be missing.
ReplyDeleteI still can believe what happen with Leo. Oh WOW.
ReplyDeleteCan not beleive, what happen in this last episode with Leo.
ReplyDeleteGreater Love - Thursday 7th and Friday 8th February . Leo , your words will remain. Can't believe the final episode.
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