Inside Silent Witness star Velvy Schur’s life including breakout role and learning new language

Silent Witness star Alastair Michael has returned to his innocent role of Velvy Schur in the new series of the BBC crime drama.

The series, which was first aired in 1996, follows a group of forensic scientists as they investigate ghastly crimes in a bid to catch those responsible.

Alastair has played the role of Velvy Schur since 2023, having joined the team for series 26 and to the delight of fans has reprised his role for the newest series joining the likes of Emilia Fox as Dr Nikki Alexander and David Caves as Jack Hodgson.

But away from uncovering grizzly crimes, what do we know about the TV star? From his breakout role in TV to learning a new language…

Alastair Michael plays the role of Velvy Schur in Silent Witness
(Image: BBC)

Who is Alastair?

Alastair hails from Manchester and is Jewish – a religion his character on Silent Witness follows.

Speaking to Tripwire Magazine last year, he said: “I am Jewish, but I grew up not being strongly connected to a Jewish community. Playing Velvy has given me a real opportunity to reconnect more deeply with my own sense of Jewishness. That’s something I’ll always remember.”

For his role of Velvy, Alastair also has to speak Yiddish which he said isn’t “easy.”

“I had to speak Yiddish, which wasn’t easy”, the actor confessed
(Image: BBC)

“I had to speak Yiddish, which wasn’t easy. But there is a Jewish advisor on the show who is brilliant. His own experience is very similar to Velvy. He was very useful for a great many things and one of those was translating scenes into Yiddish for us”, he told the publisher.

What else has he been in?

Away from Silent Witness, viewers may recognise Alastair from his time on BBC’s drama Ridley Road where he played the role of Lionel in the fourth episode.

The actor, who is relatively new to TV, has also played Smudger in three episodes of the 2017 series, Snatch.

Extending his talents elsewhere, he’s also the artistic director and co-founder of Manchester-based Ransack Theatre.

Alastair trained as a producer on Liverpool’s Everyman and Playhouse Young Producers programme from 2016 to 2017.

Securing the role in Silent Witness is a big break for the actor, who previously performed in his own one-man show called Catching Comets at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Alastair alongside his co-stars David Caves and Emilia Fox
(Image: BBC)

What is his role in Silent Witness?

Alastair joined the BBC series in 2023 for series 26 as Velvy Schur – an Anatomical Pathology Technologist (APT) trainee who was highly recommended by Clarissa Mullery.

Viewers will remember Velvy joining Nikki and Jack to investigate the death of a banker who had fallen from a London skyscraper.

Velvy made his sweet and innocent nature behaviour known and became a valued member of the team, despite his relentless questions in a bid to learn.

Describing his character, Alastair told Entertainment Daily: “We see Velvy is a naturally curious, inquisitive person. Growing up in the way he has, there’s little space for that.

Alastair said the new series of Silent Witness is “more exciting and more topical”
(Image: BBC)

“He brings an innocence, an honesty, which sometimes comes across as a mis-step. But it can offer the team at the Lyell a new perspective.”

Speaking about what to expect in the new series of Silent Witness, Alastair told HELLO! “What people can expect from Silent Witness is real topical, interesting scripts, engaging human characters who bring the audience along the journey with them and a sense of family that binds it all together in the regular cast which helps to be the ship in the storm when the crimes get darker and the body count goes up.

“I think that is what people can expect, the same as last season but more exciting and more topical.”

You can catch series 27 of Silent Witness on Monday and Tuesday from 9pm on BBC One.

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