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Silent Witness star Liz Carr addresses why she quit BBC show

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

Silent Witness lost one of its most popular characters through the shock departure of Clarissa Mullery, but Liz Carr has no regrets about her decision to leave the series.

Carr, who played forensic examiner Clarissa, appeared on the BBC One drama for seven years, before ultimately leaving the series back in 2020.

Speaking to Radio Times about her iconic role in the crime procedural, Carr said that although she doesn't take the experience for "for granted", she had started to "almost resent" the commitment needed for Silent Witness.

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

Related: Silent Witness airs shocking exit for main cast member

"The job was a joy. Clarissa was very loved, and I don't take the experience or the support that I got in that role for granted at all," Carr explained. "But I wanted to see who else I could play."

Revealing the time-consuming schedule of the show, she added: "Silent Witness took nine months a year, so it did cut out an awful lot of projects that I would have loved to do.

"I was starting to almost resent that, because I wanted to do other things."

One such 'other thing' is hit Netflix series The Witcher, with Liz set to appear in the series' second season as mysterious lawyer Fenn.

Photo credit: BBC/Jonathan Ford
Photo credit: BBC/Jonathan Ford

Related: The Witcher season 2 on Netflix: Release date, cast, plot and everything you need to know

"The Witcher would definitely have been in that category," she admitted. "Personally for me, as an electric-wheelchair-using disabled woman, it's really interesting to be cast in things that are historical, or part of a different world."

"I really relished the costumes, the set and the opportunity to go, 'Do you know what? There's no reason, really, that I can't play roles in almost anything.'"

Silent Witness airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

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