Silent Witness star Emilia Fox responds to fan theory about her new show

Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox) looking at a necklace in Silent Witness season 26
Emilia Fox as Dr. Nikki Alexander in Silent Witness. (Image credit: BBC Studios)

Silent Witness star Emilia Fox has revealed whether there's any truth to a fan theory about her detective series, Signora Volpe.

Signora Volpe is an Acorn TV drama that sees Fox playing Sylvia, an ex-MI6 operative who is drawn back into the sleuthing world whilst paying a visit to her sister in the village of Umbria in Italy. The three-part series recently debuted on the UKTV Drama channel and is due to conclude tonight at 8 pm.

As the title translates to "Mrs. Fox" from Italian and her character is called Sylvia Fox, some fans had posited whether the series had actually been named after the Silent Witness season 27 star or not. 

As it turns out, Sylvia Fox having the same name as the lead actress was pure chance, as Emilia Fox explained on Twitter: "It was actually a coincidence — it was already written when I came to it — and we tried all sorts of other names out for Sylvia and the title, and then decided this one still suited her and the show best. Thank you for noticing the coincidence!"

Even though the pair sharing the same name was a coincidence after all, Fox has shared that there is at least one similarity between herself and her Signora Volpe character. 

In our interview with Emilia Fox about the show, she said: "Like Sylvia, I'm in my 40s, which is when you think about your first half of your life, what you've done in it and what's going to happen in the second half. 

And I've realized that I'm distinctly unqualified to do anything other than what I've been doing for the past 20 years!"

Fox will next be on our screens in Silent Witness season 27, reprising the role of Dr. Nikki Alexander, a part she's been playing since 2004. Little is known about the latest instalment at the time of writing, though there at least hopes that Nikki and Jack Hodges (David Caves) will still be going strong together next time around.

Signora Volpe concludes tonight at 8 pm on the Drama Channel. All three episodes are available to stream on-demand on the UK TV Play app, and the drama is due to return for a second season. 

Silent Witness is due to return for its 27th season in 2024. You can catch up with past series on BBC iPlayer. Already caught up? Check out our picks for the best BBC dramas and the best Acorn TV shows if you're looking for something new to stream.

Martin Shore
Staff Writer at WhatToWatch.com

Martin is a Staff Writer with WhatToWatch.com, where he produces a variety of articles focused on the latest and greatest films and TV shows. 

Some of his favorite shows are What We Do In The Shadows, Bridgerton, Gangs of London, The Witcher, Doctor Who, and Ghosts. When he’s not watching TV or at the movies, Martin’s probably still in front of a screen playing the latest video games, reading, or watching the NFL.