Code of Silence (TV series)

Code of Silence
Title card
GenreCrime drama
Created byCatherine Moulton
Directed byDiarmuid Goggins
Starring
Theme music composerDan Jones
Evelyn Glennie
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
ProducerJoseph Shrubb
Production companies
Original release
NetworkITVX
Release18 May 2025 (2025-05-18) –
present

Code of Silence is a 2025 British crime drama television series for ITVX starring Rose Ayling-Ellis, Andrew Buchan and Charlotte Ritchie about a deaf civilian volunteering to help police with her lip reading skills. It was renewed for a second series later that year.

Plot

Alison Woods is working in the canteen of a Canterbury police station. She is deaf, and a team of police detectives, led by Detective Inspector James Marsh, bring her in to assist in a criminal investigation as an emergency lip reader.[1] The police are using covert surveillance cameras to observe a criminal gang who are plotting a jewellery heist. Accompanied by Detective Sergeant Ashleigh Francis, Alison observes the gang in a public bar, and using her lip-reading skills, Alison is able to unravel the plot.

Alison discovers that a younger member, Liam Barlow, has been recruited by the gang as a security hacker to bypass the security systems at the jewellery vault. After a disagreement with the police team, Alison takes a bar job at the pub frequented by the gang, placing herself in an unauthorised undercover operation. There, she becomes romantically attached to Liam, who takes her on a romantic weekend at a country park hotel. There, Liam observes a wealthy businessman and his family, the targets of the planned robbery. Liam grows suspicious of Alison and hacks her hearing aids via her smartphone, which leads him to discover that she is a police informant. The heist goes ahead – not at the vault, as anticipated, but at the hotel. During the robbery, one of the police detectives is shot. Liam betrays the gang and attempts to make off with the jewellery by himself, offering to take Alison and her mother to live abroad with the proceeds. Braden Moore, the gang leader, uncovers Alison's police involvement and takes her hostage, forcing Liam to hand over the jewels. Liam has contacted the police, who rescue Alison and arrest Liam and the other gang members. Liam stands trial and is sentenced to imprisonment, but promises to come back for her, using his newly acquired sign language skill. DI Marsh congratulates Alison and offers her a training course in becoming an official investigative lip-reader for the police.[2][3]

Cast

Episodes

No.Title Directed byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Episode 1"Diarmuid GogginsCatherine Moulton24 July 2025 (2025-07-24)
Alison Woods works as a server in the canteen at the police station. DS Ashleigh Francis asks Alison to use her lip reading skills to help with the investigation of gang of thieves.
2"Episode 2"Diarmuid GogginsCatherine Moulton24 July 2025 (2025-07-24)
3"Episode 3"Diarmuid GogginsWill Truefitt31 July 2025 (2025-07-31)
4"Episode 4"Chanya ButtonBenji Walters7 August 2025 (2025-08-07)
5"Episode 5"Chanya ButtonCatherine Moulton14 August 2025 (2025-08-14)
6"Episode 6"Chanya ButtonCatherine Moulton21 August 2025 (2025-08-21)

Production

A pub in Hemel Hempstead was used for exterior scenes at The Canterbury Tap
Location filming took place at Watford Police Station

Development

The series is written by Catherine Moulton and was commissioned by ITVX in May 2023.[4] It is produced by Mammoth Screen for ITVX, and ITV Studios are distributing internationally.

Casting

The cast is led by Rose Ayling-Ellis, Charlotte Ritchie and Andrew Buchan.[5] The six-part series has Diarmuid Goggins as lead director. Tom Leggett and Damien Timmer are executive producers for Mammoth Screen, alongside Moulton and Ayling-Ellis.[6][7]

Filming

Filming began in September 2024 and continued into February 2025.[1][8] Filming locations include Canterbury, Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Wrotham Park and St Albans in Hertfordshire.[9][10]

Sequel

It was renewed for a second series in July 2025.[11]

Broadcast

The series became available on 18 May 2025 on ITVX in the United Kingdom. It began airing on 24 July 2025 on BritBox in North America.[12][13]

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating based on 24 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Rose Ayling-Ellis is terrific in Code of Silence, a sharp crime drama given an compelling wrinkle by its credible depiction of the deaf perspective."[14] On Metacritic the series scored 80 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "Generally Favorable".[15]

Anita Singh in The Daily Telegraph awarded the show four stars and praised the performance of Rose Ayling-Ellis in the lead role, as well as the pacing of the series and the tension it created on the viewer.[16] Lucy Mangan in The Guardian also awarded the show four stars out of five and praised Ayling-Ellis, calling the show a "triumph".[17] Carol Midgely in The Times praised the script which "is written from experience and with veracity" and results in "a fresh, original drama that has done the near impossible and given us a cop drama with something new to say".[18]

Accolades

The series was nominated for New Drama with Rose Ayling-Ellis nominated for Performance in a Drama at the National Television Awards and Best Drama at the British Academy Television Awards.[19][20] The series was nominated for Best Drama at the 2026 Royal Television Society Programme Awards with Ayling-Ellis nominated for Leading Actor – Female with Catherine Moulton nominated for Writer - Drama.[21]

Awards

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.
2025 National Television Awards Best Drama Code of Silence Nominated [22]
Best Actress Rose Ayling-Ellis Nominated [22]
2026 Royal Television Society Programme Awards Best Drama Series Code of Silence Nominated [23]
Best Actress Rose Ayling-Ellis Nominated [23]
Best Writer - Drama Catherine Moulton Nominated [23]
British Academy Television Awards Best Drama Series Code of Silence Won [24]
Best Actress Rose Ayling-Ellis Nominated [24]

References

  1. 1 2 Daniels, Nia (17 September 2024). "Rose Ayling-Ellis films Code of Silence". The Knowledge Online. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  2. ↑ Robinson, Abby (18 May 2025). "Code of Silence is a Deaf-led crime thriller that gets representation right | Radio Times". www.radiotimes.com. Radio Times. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  3. ↑ O'Brien, Jon (21 May 2025). "Code of Silence ending explained: What happened to Alison and Liam? | Radio Times". www.radiotimes.com. Radio Times. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  4. ↑ Hibbs, James (17 May 2023). "Rose Ayling-Ellis "delighted" to lead ITV thriller Code of Silence". Radio Times. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  5. ↑ Whittock, Jesse (9 October 2024). "ITV/BritBox Drama 'Code Of Silence' Cast; EFM Country In Focus Unveiled; Jesse Eisenberg Honored By Stockholm; Seven.One Studios Builds Formats Team — Global Briefs". Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  6. ↑ "Mammoth Screen makes thriller Code of Silence for ITV". Televisual. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  7. ↑ ". "KIN director joins EastEnders star for ITV crime drama". RTE. 9 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  8. ↑ "Buongiorno Italian is latest filming location for ITV drama". Hertfordshire Advertiser. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  9. ↑ Mountney, Dan (9 October 2024). "Filming at St Albans for ITV drama Code of Silence". Hertsad.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  10. ↑ Hornbuckle, Jon (18 May 2025). "'Code of Silence': Behind the filming locations for ITV's new crime drama". Time Out. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  11. ↑ Cormack, Morgan (9 July 2025). "Code of Silence future confirmed by ITV after Rose Ayling-Ellis drama's acclaimed first run". Radio Times. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  12. ↑ Molina-Whyte, Lidia (9 October 2024). "Ghosts and Broadchurch stars join Rose Ayling-Ellis in Code of Silence". Radio Times. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  13. ↑ Rowan, Iona (18 March 2025). "New British crime thriller with Broadchurch and Black Doves star shares first look". Digital Spy. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  14. ↑ "Code of Silence: Season 1 | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. 11 May 2026. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  15. ↑ "Code of Silence: Season 1". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  16. ↑ Singh, Anita (18 May 2025). "Code of Silence, review: a quietly revolutionary crime drama". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  17. ↑ Mangan, Lucy (18 May 2025). "Code of Silence review – Rose Ayling-Ellis is a triumph in this fun, fascinating crime show". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  18. ↑ Midgely, Carol (18 May 2025). "Code of Silence review: Finally, a cop drama with something new to say". The Times. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  19. ↑ Glanfield, Tim. "Bafta TV Awards 2026: 11 nods for Adolescence proves British drama is still hard to beat". The Times. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  20. ↑ Youngs, Ian (19 August 2025). "Lineker nominated for National Television Awards". BBC News. Archived from the original on 19 August 2025. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  21. ↑ "Nominations announced for the RTS Programme Awards 2026". rts.org. 10 March 2026. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  22. 1 2 Nanji, Noor; Rufo, Yasmin (10 September 2025). "Gary Lineker ends Ant and Dec's 23-year winning streak at TV awards". BBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  23. 1 2 3 "RTS Programme Awards 2026". Royal Television Society. 24 March 2026. Archived from the original on 6 May 2026. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  24. 1 2 Richardson, Hollie (10 May 2026). "Bafta TV awards 2026: the full list of winners". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
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