'Prison Break' boss explains shock twist

Prison Break's executive producer Nick Santora has explained the decision to kill off the pivotal character of Sara Tancredi in brutal circumstances.

Tancredi's head was found in a box by Lincoln Burrows in the latest episode 'Good Fences', following actress Sarah Wayne Callies' departure from the series. Santora, who also writes episodes for the show, told Prison Break Magazine: "We didn't know it was definite until sometime in the summer, so we just had to change our storylines and come up with something that was jarring, emotional and would still drive our characters.

"The one thing that was never an option was recasting her with a completely different actresss so that there would be someone who looked nothing like Sarah Wayne Callies, running through Panama pretending to be Dr Tancredi. We couldn't do that or insult our audience so we knew we had to figure out a way to explain why she wasn't on camera."

Santora also promised that Tancredi's death will have a profound impact on the show's central character when he discovers her grizzly fate: "Michael Schofield is going to do things you never imagined he could do. It is going to flip a switch."