Helen Whitwell, a consultant neuropathologist, received the outstanding alumni award at Manchester University in 2008. She met crime writer Nigel McCrery in the early 1990s and inspired his BBC drama Silent Witness. Whitwell was a glamorous bon viveur who enjoyed champagne and lived by the maxim, “Never turn right when boarding a plane.” She was one of the first women to join the Home Office register of forensic pathologists in 1988 and performed autopsies on around 50-60 suspicious deaths a year. Despite the similarities between her and the fictional character Sam Ryan, Whitwell was noted for being a much warmer person.
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Helen Whitwell: neuropathologist, expert on paediatric brain injuries, and inspiration for Silent Witness
