Contains major spoilers for Silent Witness
Tonight's episode of Silent Witness has been one of the most dramatic we've seen all season, as Jack (David Caves) hands himself in for murder. So does this mean Jack is leaving the show for good?
The new episode of the BBC crime drama series, which just celebrated it's 30th anniversary, began with Nikki (Emilia Fox) and Jack testifying at a hearing for a series of shootings taking place in Birmingham. With the case weighing over him, Jack takes himself off to the pub, where he gets into a fight with a local punter. A few days later Jack discovers that same man dead on Nikki's examination table.
Consumed with guilt and convinced he's the cause of the man's death, with the evidence mounting up against him, Jack hands himself into the police. So is this the end of Jack's career as a forensic scientist?
Well here's what we know about his future on the show.
Is Jack leaving Silent Witness?
Contains spoilers for Grace of God Part 2
Right now, it's not 100 per cent certain of Jack's future on the show, however we've got a good feeling he's going to be around for a while.
The second part of 'Grace of God' (available on BBC iPlayer now BTW) shows Jack cleared of the man's murder and returned home to Nikki. Jack's involvement actually turned out to be part of a wider investigation at play, that saw him simply as a pawn in the police's case.
David Caves is also scheduled to appear in the next and final two episodes of the season, which will be released next week.
The entirety of season 29 has seen Jack struggle with his new life in Birmingham. He first found himself accidentally in deep trouble with a racist gang, who then used his image to create an AI video of him where he appeared to share hate speech. And now after his time in jail and his guilt over the death (even though he didn't cause it) Jack doesn't seem to be like himself.
Prior to the season beginning Caves opened up about the journey Jack was going to go throughout this season, saying: "He’s more affected by the trials and tribulations of his work and we see that play out majorly in this series. Jack is really tested in one story, a very personal odyssey he must go on alone."
However, despite all these challenges, the episode ends with Jack in therapy (presumably in order to be cleared to return to police work) with his final reflection being: "I want to be there for all of it. I'm ready."
Now that to us sounds like a man who is ready to return to work, and hopefully isn't going anywhere.
Silent Witness is available on BBC iPlayer now
