BBC’s Forensics: The Real CSI shows the specialised work of police and forensic teams investigating a violent crime

Posted on 28 February 2025 • Arts and social sciences, Society and politics, TV and radio

The Open University has once again teamed up with the BBC for another episode of Forensics: The Real CSI that shows the work of police forensic teams investigating a woman’s death.

The episode, titled ‘Murder in a Brothel’, airs at 9pm on Sunday, 2 March, on BBC Two and iPlayer, and will be available on demand afterwards.

The programme follows the work of detectives and forensic scientists from West Midlands Police as they investigate the death as a suspected murder. What evidence will the team find, and what will it tell them?

Dr Jim Turner, a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology who specialises in the application of psychological knowledge to forensic settings, was one of the OU’s consultants on the series.

He said:

“It’s always a pleasure to work on this series, which helps to teach people about forensic sciences and demystify criminal investigations.

“As a psychologist, it’s particularly encouraging to see how the investigators make every effort to ‘let the evidence speak’, which helps to keep biases and preconceptions out of the investigative process and ensure fairness.”

Visit our Broadcast & Partnerships site OU Connect where you can explore a virtual crime scene, find evidence, and learn more about the science underpinning many criminal investigations from forensics experts.

This programme was commissioned by Broadcast & Partnerships and is supported by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, with particular relevance to: Q82 – BSc (Honours) Forensic Psychology, R21 – BA (Honours) Criminology, and Q71 – BSc (Honours) Health Sciences.

• Commissioned by – Dr Caroline Ogilvie, Director of Broadcast & Partnerships
• Academic Consultants – Dr Jim Turner (FASS), Dr Dan Stratton and Dr Claire Kotecki (STEM)
• Media Fellows – Professor Zoe Walkington (FASS) and Professor Andrew Norton (STEM)

• Broadcast Project Manager – Clair Robinson
• Online Supporting Content – Xinmiao Zhang 

Picture: Blast Films