A POPULAR television show which returned to our screens last night includes scenes shot in Brighton.

BBC One smash hit Silent Witness aired the premiere of its 22nd series at 9pm.

It is predominantly set in London but the show, which stars Emilia Fox – who has been a mainstay of it since 2004 – has used Brighton as the location for some key scenes.

One was Gold Coast Jewellers in Brighton Square.

The jewellery shop, which has been in the heart of The Lanes since 1982, was transformed into a tattoo parlour for a number of shots.

The owners closed the shop for the day while a

complete makeover took place.

But while the exterior was decked out to look like a tattoo parlour, the interior remained much the same.

Barry Tuck, owner of Gold Coast Jewellers, said: “They changed the exterior.

“One window was turned into the window of a tattoo parlour.

“Internally they used the store as a dressing room.

“The cast came and had their make-up done in here.

“We closed for a whole day, they revamped the outside of the store and then we had loads of film crew coming to use our facilities.

“I briefly met some of the cast and I got a photo with Liz Carr [who plays Clarissa].”

Barry also got to meet special guest star Samantha Bond, best known for playing Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films in the Pierce Brosnan era.

The shop’s moment in the TV spotlight came about by chance.

Barry said the producers initially had another store in mind for their location.

He said: “We got a letter saying they wanted to film in the area because they liked the look of the street.

“They said that it may cause us some inconvenience in closing the lane.

“They then came back and said the owner of the venue next door – which was where they originally wanted to film – had said they didn’t want to do it.”

Silent Witness has been running since 1996 and regularly pulls in more than five million viewers.

Barry is now eager to watch the series to find out how his shop comes across.

He said: “I will definitely be watching to see our store.

“Looking at the shop I know who it is but they revamped it in such a way you wouldn’t know it was us before.

“I’m going to enjoy it.”

Silent Witness also used Chesham Place in Kemp Town to film some scenes where the team is looking for a body.

Filming for the Brighton scenes took place last summer.

They will appear in episodes to be screened on Monday, January 21 and Tuesday, January 22, at 9pm.