Who is Nigel McCrery? All you need to know as Silent Witness creator dies aged 71

Nigel McCrery, the creator of Silent Witness, died on February 4 at the age of 71, according to his agent. Nigel's representative made the news public on BBC, saying:

"It's with a heavy heart that we share the news of screenwriter, author and producer Nigel McCrery’s passing. As the creative mind behind such hits as the much loved long-running BBC drama series Silent Witness and New Tricks, Nigel captivated and inspired audiences for years with his work.”

The statement further continued:

“His numerous contributions to the arts will always be remembered. Nigel had an incredible career and will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with his family at this time."

After working as a police officer in Nottingham, McCrery joined the BBC on a graduate entry program in 1990. He used his policing experience to produce the drama Backup, which ran from 1995 to 1997. In 1996, he moved on to develop Silent Witness. In addition, he was also the creator of the BBC show New Tricks.

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Nigel McCrery was a multi-talented man

Nigel McCrery was a writer, producer, and screenwriter from England. He was the creator of the popular crime dramas New Tricks (2003–2015) and Silent Witness (1996).

Before relocating to Nottingham, his family traveled during his early years since his father, Colin McCrery, was in the RAF. He went to Stapleford's George Spencer Secondary School.

In 1978, Nigel McCrery joined the Nottinghamshire Constabulary after holding several positions. He developed an interest in forensic science while working on several murder cases. He resigned from the police force in August 1987 to study modern history at Cambridge's Trinity College.

In 1990, Nigel McCrery was chosen for the BBC's Graduate Entry Program. In 1992, he joined the BBC drama department after working on several documentaries, eventually becoming the researcher for Our Friends in the North.

He subsequently produced the television shows Impact (2003), Born and Bred (2002–2006), Backup (1995–1997), and All the King's Men (1999). As an assistant producer of the BBC1 program Tomorrow's World in 1992, McCrery made arrangements for the remains of the Bolshevik-executed Tsar Nicholas II and the other members of the Russian Royal Family to be sent to the UK for DNA testing to confirm their identities.

The bones of nine Romanovs were then transported to their final location in McCrery's vehicle. About the same, he wrote in his book Silent Witnesses: A History of Forensic Science:

"There can't be many people who've had an entire royal family in the boot of their car."

Additionally, Nigel McCrery was active with the nonprofit organization Care after Combat, which visits and assists incarcerated veterans. McCrery also had dyslexia. In 2013, he was invited by his school to inaugurate their newly constructed learning and inclusion center, which was dedicated in his honor.

Later, in 1976, Nigel McCrery married Gillian Copson. The couple had three children: two daughters and a son, however, they eventually got divorced. Years later, the novelist and screenwriter revealed that he received a terminal diagnosis in October 2024, although he did not specify the nature of the ailment.

McCrery described the revelation "as quite a shock" in an interview with BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live show in November 2024. He further added:

"I mean people deal with their deaths in different ways, and I think it’s all very, very individual to each of us. But I think for a little while you do go into shock - or I did, and I was in a bit of a state."

Speaking about his diagnosis, Nigel McCrery said:

"I used to cry a lot, I used to sob a lot."

He continued:

"It’s not that I’m scared of dying, I’m actually not. I have wonderful granddaughters, and it’s missing them growing up. It’s the things I’ll be missing by not being around that I’ll find the hardest to cope with."

Within three months of the interview, he died on February 4, 2025, at the age of 71.