One of the BBC's most popular dramas, Waking the Dead regularly draws audiences of over 8 million in the UK. It's twice been nominated for an International Emmy and in 2004 won the award for Best Drama Series, with specific reference to writer Stephen Davis* for Breaking Glass, directed by David Thacker*, and writer Ed Whitmore* for Multistorey, directed by Bob Bierman*.

Devised by Barbara Machin*, Waking The Dead began life as a two-part pilot episode shown on BBC ONE in September 2000, with a full series following in June 2001.

Trevor Eve, Sue Johnston, Wil Johnson, Claire Goose and Holly Aird starred as members of the Met's Cold Case Unit, set up to reinvestigate old cases where new evidence or links to modern day crimes came to light.

Using advanced techniques in forensic science, the team get under the skin of some tough cold cases, often taking risks in order to discover the truth and bring the perpetrators to justice.

At the end of Series 4 in the story Shadowplay, the character of Mel Silver (Claire Goose), was killed during an investigation. The episode also marked the final appearance of Frankie Wharton (Holly Aird). Esther Hall and Félicité du Jeu joined the cast in Series 5, with Tara FitzGerald replacing Esther in Series 6.