Expert Witness 

Original version

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

Expert Witness

Documentaries

Factual: Crime & Justice

Factual: Crime & Justice: True Crime

True crime series revealing how some of the UK’s most serious cases were solved.

How some of the UK’s most serious and complex cases were solved by the expertise of a band of unsung heroes – the expert witnesses. Gripping true crime stories.

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One North West

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region. Separated as BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One London HD

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One West Midlands

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

BBC One South East HD

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One Yorks & Lincs HD

BBC One Channel Islands

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

BBC One Oxfordshire

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

BBC One East Midlands HD

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East HD

BBC One Wales

Wales

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One North West HD

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC One West HD

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria HD

BBC One Cambridgeshire HD

BBC One Yorkshire HD

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

BBC One Channel Islands HD

BBC One West Midlands HD

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Oxfordshire HD

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One London

London

BBC One South HD

BBC One East

BBC One South West HD

Ashley John-Baptiste

Richard Weller

Rare TV

Expert Witness: Series 1 (Extended Versions): DNA, Fibres and Crime Scene Management

Soil Secrets and Crime Scene Management

DNA, Fibres and Crime Scene Management

Series 1 (Extended Versions)

BBC One - Expert Witness, Series 1 (Extended Versions), DNA, Fibres and Crime Scene Management

DNA cracks a cold case, unusual blue fibres solve a murder, and crime scene management.

DNA and an expert witness solve a 50-year-old cold case, a murder is solved by tracking unusual fibres around the world, and how to preserve and examine a crime scene.

In this episode, we delve into an old murder mystery in the village of Beenham in Berkshire. Modern forensic science covers a huge area of expertise- blood, DNA, soil, pollen, data but 50 years ago, it was little more than fingerprints and fibres. Which is why one murder investigation from 1966 eventually ran cold. Decades later, an expert witness used brand new science to crack the case.

The programme's second case explores the analysis of tiny clues found on the body of murdered Leicester solicitor, Vina Patel. When she was found dead at the bottom of a staircase it looked like murder, but DNA could find no definitive proof of who the killer was.  Then, a scientist with an expert knowledge of fibres found an intriguing clue.

The murder of Stephen Lawrence shocked the nation. After the police’s investigation into the killing failed to bring justice, an inquiry led to widespread changes in policing practices. One of the recommendations of the inquiry was the introduction of a dedicated crime scene manager, crucially a role to be carried out by a civilian and not a police officer. We learn from one of the country’s leading crime scene managers about the importance of this role and of the type and scale of crime scenes that are visited.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Expert Witness

Series 1 (Extended Versions)

DNA, Fibres and Crime Scene Management

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC One South West

About BBC One