A HIT BBC drama caused quite a stir when it was filmed on Rainham marshes.

Part of the reserve, near Purfleet, was turned into a crime scene for the filming of Silent Witness, now in its 17th series.

Award-winning actors, Emilia Fox and David Caves, who play forensic experts in the series, filmed on the river wall section of the popular RSPB reserve.

The episodes saw Emilia’s character Nikki deliver a ground breaking testimony in the case of a convicted killer guilty of killing two gay teenagers, but her professionalism is brought into question due to a close relationship with a lawyer.

Meanwhile, colleague Rachel remains unconvinced with her testimony after another man is found dead bearing the same marks as the previous murders.

Louise Moss from the RSPB said: “Silent Witness is one of the BBC’s most popular dramas; it’s really exciting that some of this episode were filmed here at the reserve.

“It was fascinating to see how the episodes were filmed – we had to warn visitors that we had filming onsite with ‘police officers’ and ‘dead bodies’ around!”

The episodes were aired last week in a two-part special called Coup de Grace, but can still be viewed on the BBC iPlayer.