What happened to Jack Hodgson in Silent Witness?

Jack Hodgson (DAVID CAVES) in Silent Witness season 29 — (Image credit: BBC Studios)

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What happened to Jack in Silent Witness Grace of God Part 1?
So, did Jack kill someone? Grace of God Part 2 explained
Is Jack leaving Silent Witness?

We’re used to seeing Dr Nikki Alexander and Jack Hodgson using their respective pathology and forensic expertise to put criminals behind bars. However, in the latest episodes of Silent Witness season 29, Grace of God, it’s Jack who’s locked up. He’s long been known for his skill at fighting and cage fighting is a favoured pastime of his.

Yet things are a lot more serious now as after Jack ended up in a fight with Scott Ashton, the man ended up on Nikki’s autopsy table just days later. So is Jack Hodgson actually a murderer himself? And what does that mean for his future as a lead character? Here I break down what happened to Jack in Silent Witness across both parts of this gripping episode.

What happened to Jack in Silent Witness Grace of God Part 1?

Part 1 of Grace of God begins with Jack in prison and that’s exactly how Part 2 begins too. Anyone who’s not yet watched both episodes on BBC iPlayer, you might want to hold off to avoid spoilers for what’s to come! As I mentioned, Jack ended up in a fight with Scott Ashton and so he’s shocked when he turns up dead days later.

The forensic scientist hands himself into the police after the evidence against him starts to pile up and this is *not* a good way to start his new life in Birmingham with Nikki. She wasn’t aware that her husband had been to the pub (where Jack and Ashton got into their altercation) and after being served with a search warrant she is quick to vent to Harriet in the next scene.

"Jack said he went to the gym that night," she told her boss. "I believed him. Jack doesn’t lie."

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Well, in general he might not lie. Anyone who's watched the show for as long as I have will know that he wasn’t prepared to lie to cover up his brother’s involvement in a crime that led to several murders. Jack also had a reputation when he first arrived in Silent Witness for having a problem with the police because he wasn’t prepared to be quiet when he saw things being done wrong.

Yet in this case, he made an exception, and Harriet tells Nikki, "He seems to think that his punch caused the extradural haematoma". Horrified, the pathologist said that if that’s so, he could go to prison for manslaughter, if not murder.

She then brings up another damning detail which, again, long-time fans will remember. When we first met Jack’s brother Ryan, it emerged that he’d taken the blame for the scientist over a punch that broke a man’s jaw in a fight. Ryan then felt Jack owed him after going to prison for him, hence why he was especially furious when his brother didn’t cover up his crimes.

So, did Jack kill someone? Grace of God Part 2 explained

The events of Silent Witness Grace of God Part 1 had even Nikki Alexander questioning if her husband could be capable of murder so it’s no surprise if many fans asked themselves the same. Thankfully, though, Jack comes to doubt his own guilt and the Bowman team help to prove that his actions weren’t the cause of Ashton’s death - so he didn’t kill anyone.

It takes a while, as Jack even told Nikki in a prison phone call that he’d "wanted to kill him" so he did - that’s how convinced he was. Kit Brooks ends up finding Scott Ashton’s bookie, who confirms he received a call from the dead man at 11:30pm on the day he died. This was long after his altercation with Jack - and he has a voicemail to prove the story.

Prisoner Officer Barnes (JACK PIERCE) and Jack Hodgson (DAVID CAVES) in Silent Witness

When she tells Nikki over the phone, the pathologist is holding Ashton’s X-rays and says that he wouldn’t have been able to speak with the injury she sees there.

"That’s what I’m saying, Nikki!" Kit responds excitedly. "Jack didn’t kill him. We need to call the lawyers, get Jack out of there."

The pair then put some more vital pieces together and work out that the forensic scientist’s cell mate (and secret National Crime Agency operative) Macklow could actually be the brother of Ashton. This isn’t good news, as they worry about what might happen if the cellmate blames him for Ashton’s death.

Macklow (BEN BATT) in Silent Witness season 29

Jack was set up to attack Ashton by Retford who wanted to get Jack put inside, although there was also a layer of police manipulation, using his circumstances to get rid of the criminal. Retford threatens him to change his evidence and later tries to get Macklow to shoot him, without knowing Scott was the man’s brother.

Instead of killing Jack, Macklow killed Retford, although for a second there I thought it was all over for the Bowman team member as we heard the gunshot without seeing things play out until moments later. Ultimately, Jack Hodgson is exonerated and we see him reuniting with Nikki and apologising to her for lying about going to the pub and not the gym that night and letting her down.

Is Jack leaving Silent Witness?

We can’t be 100% sure until the final episodes of Silent Witness season 29 air, but I suspect that this was more about giving Jack a meaty storyline than setting the character up to exit the show. In the final scenes of Grace of God Part 2 we see him having a therapy session and saying, “Someone once said life is understood backwards but lived forwards. I want to be there for all of it. I’m ready.”

So he’s raring to go once more and I would be surprised - and very sad - if David Caves left his role as Jack Hodgson in Silent Witness in the season 29 finale.

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Emma is a Royal Editor with nine years of experience in publishing. She specialises in writing about the British Royal Family, covering everything from protocol to outfits. Alongside putting her extensive royal knowledge to good use, Emma knows all there is to know about the latest TV shows on the BBC, ITV and more. When she’s not writing about the latest royal outing or unmissable show to add to your to-watch list, Emma enjoys cooking, long walks and watching yet more crime dramas!

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