Sam Ryan

Professor Samantha 'Sam' Ryan (originally titled Dr) was a major character in Silent Witness. She is a forensic pathologist and the original leader of the forensics team. She is portrayed by Amanda Burton.

Background
Sam was born in Northern Ireland. She has a sister named Wyn and a nephew named Ricky. Her father was killed in an explosion when she was young; she and her family witnessed his death.

Silent Witness
Sam originally lived and worked in Cambridge, running a private morgue with Trevor Stewart. Sam is extremely dedicated to her work, often going above and beyond the usual tasks of pathologists in her pursuit of truth and justice. Sam moved to London at the end of Series 3 after she was offered the job of professor at a university, becoming the head of the newly formed Lyell Centre. She had many love interests, but no permanent relationships. Over the years, she suffered a number of personal tragedies and traumas, including an attempted rape in Series 7 and the death of her mother. Nevertheless, it didn't prevent her from doing her job. Sam returned home to  Irelandafter a member of her family was implicated in a murder, in the Series 8 debut, A Time to Heal. Her lab partner Leo Dalton replaced her as the head of the Lyell Centre.

Personality
Sam is a highly skilled and diligent pathologist. She tries to remain neutral and detached, but sometimes becomes emotionally involved in her cases and will occasionally bend the rules or overstep her duties as a pathologist to find the truth. She is committed to delivering justice wherever she can. Sam can come across as being somewhat blunt or cold, but is warm and considerate towards her loved ones. She can also be too independent for her own good, with Trevor Stewart pointing out that she needs to learn to cooperate with the police and work as a team. Sam is a brave woman, rarely showing fear even when threatened by dangerous criminals - even in the debut episode, Sam was more concerned for the Crew family than her own safety after Gary Phillips broke into her home. She rarely becomes flustered and usually remains calm and level-headed in a crisis.

Trivia

 * Sam Ryan has appeared in a total of 54 episodes, giving her the fourth highest episode count out of all the main cast.