ON SET WITH...

Emilia, 38, scion of the famous acting for her role as dynasty, is best known Dr Nikki troubled forensic pathologist Here she Alexander in Silent Witness. talks us through a typical week on the set of the 16th series of the show...

7 MONDAY

My character Nikki had a close relationship with her former colleague Harry, and I became good friends with Tom Ward, who played him. So it was almost as devastating for me as it was for Nikki when Tom announced he was leaving at the end of the last series. Luckily his replacement David Caves, who plays forensic scientist Jack Hodgson, is a lot of fun to be around. This is his first TV show but you’d never know it; he’s fitted right in. Jack’s a bit of a maverick who does bare-knuckle fighting for a hobby and it’s changed the dynamic of our trio – it feels lighter.

8 TUESDAY

I’m doing a dissection today, which is always a little macabre. Our set is in the middle of an industrial estate in west London, but our designers have created an incredibly modern-looking lab. While the show’s evolved over the years, the thing that remains at its heart is the idea of a body giving up secrets. It doesn’t matter how much it’s modernised – and we always keep up with the latest scientific research – it’s still essentially solving a puzzle. The bodies look more realistic this year too. They’re made of wax and latex but they’re uncannily lifelike – they even feel like bodies.

9 WEDNESDAY

A rather nice scene today as Nikki finally finds a love interest, and he happens to be played by my old friend Ed Stoppard (right, with Emilia), with whom I worked on The Pianist and Upstairs Downstairs. For once the audience will get to see Nikki relaxed. I’m always asking the writers to make her stop worrying quite so much!

10 THURSDAY

Today I have a day off the set as Nikki’s attending a christening, and I’m actually wearing one of my own dresses. People often ask me if I’m anything like Nikki; the answer is no, we’re two very different people but we happen to like the same wardrobe. I think I’m not as serious as her and I don’t worry as much. I’ve been playing Nikki for eight years now and I feel very protective of her. I feel blessed to have been able to play the same role for so long; you really get to know your character. It’s a long day filming but I have a bag of Haribo sweets in my handbag; they’re my secret energy weapon.

11 FRIDAY

We’re almost at the end of filming this series now, and I hope the audience likes our new trio. None of us were there at the start. It feels like we’re the caretakers of a series that’s a success in its own right, which is a rather special position to be in. We’ve been called the ‘darkest show on television’, but getting the balance right is something we’re all aware of. We’re dealing with stories of violent death but we don’t want it to just be about that. You’ll be glad to know we have a lot of fun between takes, although even then there tend to be a lot of dark jokes.