Helena Bonham Carter and David Mitchell also co-star in the dark comedy series.

By Flora Carr

Published: Tuesday, 31 August 2021 at 12:00 am

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The BBC has confirmed the release date of its new comedy series, starring Taskmaster’s Greg Davies, Helena Bonham Carter and David Mitchell.

Davies leads the cast as Wicky, a gossipy cleaner responsible for scrubbing up blood from gruesome crime scenes. “To Wicky, a bloodbath is just an obstacle between him and his next pint,” explains Davies.

Inspired by the German series “Der Tatortreiniger” (Crime Scene Cleaner), the six-part comedy follows Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead as he dons his hazmat suit and interacts with a revolving cast of characters, “from the victims’ relatives, employers, neighbours and acquaintances, to occasionally even the murderers themselves,” the BBC teases.

“Each episode is generally a two-hand ‘play’. I mistakenly thought this would be easier than writing for multiple characters. It is not! It was nice to just focus on Wicky and the person he encounters each week though. It’s a challenge to make them rounded and to give context to the dreadful events that have led them to be spending time with a crime-scene cleaner,” said Davies.

Read on for everything you need to know about The Cleaner.

The Cleaner release date

The Cleaner will air weekly on BBC One from 9:30pm on Friday 10th September, and will also be available as a box set on BBC iPlayer.

The Cleaner cast

Davies leads the cast as Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead, a Shropshire-based state-certified cleaning technician who cleans crime scenes.

The Crown’s Helena Bonham Carter and Peep Show‘s David Mitchell also co-star, alongside the likes of Stephanie Cole (Still Open All Hours), Donald Sumpter (Game of Thrones), Shobu Kapoor (Four Weddings and a Funeral), Ruth Madeley (Years and Years) and Layton Williams (Bad Education).

“I thoroughly enjoyed playing Sheila, one of the eclectic (and sometimes murderous) mix of characters that ‘Wicky’ comes across during his gruesome but necessary work,” said Bonham Carter.

Meanwhile, Jo Hartley plays “Maggie, the one that got away. Wicky’s first love and long-term ex-girlfriend”, who is referenced throughout the series and finally appears in episode six.

Casualty’s Zita Sattar, The Crown‘s Georgie Glen, Ted Lasso’s Bill Skinner and Still So Awkward’s Esmonde Cole round out the supporting cast.

Davies said of the cast announcements: “I’m thrilled that this remarkable collection of actors has agreed to appear next to me on screen. Scrubbing up blood in a hazmat suit in front of them will be a pleasure.”

The Cleaner plot

Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead is a confirmed gossip – which can cause a bit of a problem in his line of work, as he’s responsible for cleaning up murder scenes after the police have finished their detective work.

Alongside his chatterbox personality, he’s known for the baby-blue truck he drives around Shropshire.

Davies said in a statement: “As a young man I told a careers adviser that I wanted to mop blood up for a living or be a comedian. He told me with a giggle that neither were real jobs and I should consider learning a trade. Well he’s not laughing now is he?! (Sadly, he’s dead).

“I’m thrilled to be adapting this wonderful show with Studio Hamburg UK for BBC One and can’t wait to get cleaning,” he added.

Shane Allen, the BBC’s Commissioning Controller for Comedy, also said: “Greg has done a knockout job of repositioning this hit sitcom for the UK audience.”

“Wicky is a thoroughly decent everyman whose differing work situation each week brims with comic flourishes and opportunities to test his moral fibre,” he added. “As with Ghosts and The Goes Wrong Show we’re keen to back distinctive ideas that play with form and tone for a mainstream BBC One audience and take the sitcom in to unexpected new settings.”

The Cleaner trailer

You can watch the trailer for The Cleaner here.

If you’re looking for something else to watch, take a look at the rest of our Comedy coverage or check out our TV Guide.

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