Irene Amanda Burton is a Northern Irish actress. Her notable credits include Heather Haversham in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside (1982–1986), Beth Glover in the ITV drama series Peak Practice (1993–1995), Sam Ryan in the BBC crime drama series Silent Witness (1996–2004, 2022).
Did Amanda Burton leave Silent Witness?
Amanda first joined in 1996 but left during series eight, explaining at the time that it was “time to move on”. There was also a suggestion that her subsequent role as Commander Clare Blake on ITV’s The Commander was a driving force behind her move.
In the show, her character, Sam, leaves at the end of episode one of series eight, in which she decides to move back to her home in Ireland after her family member is implicated in a murder. From then on, current star Emilia Fox joined as Dr. Nikki Alexander.
How many series of Silent Witnesses was Amanda Burton in?
The first seven series featured Amanda Burton in the lead role. Following Burton’s departure (in series 8, episode 2), Emilia Fox joined the show (in series 8, episode 5) as the new forensic pathologist Nikki Alexander and as of 2022 is still in the series.