Roughly 15 months after it first aired, Greg Davies’ BBC One comedy The Cleaner is returning for a Christmas Special – with crime scene cleaner Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead set to face a blood-soaked crime scene in an ice cream parlour.
The sitcom – which is based on the German series Der Tatortreiniger – was officially renewed for a second season earlier in 2022, and the festive episode should keep fans going as they wait for further news on when the second run will arrive.
Davies is set to reprise his role as Wicky, a character based on Heiko ‘Schotty’ Schotte (Bjarne Mädel) from Der Tatortreiniger – while the second season should also keep up its reputation for landing some stellar guest stars.
The news of The Cleaner’s renewal was announced during a speech by Jon Petrie, Director of BBC Comedy, who unveiled a package of new commissions and objectives set out by the broadcaster, before committing to an extra £10 million in new comedy programming over the next two years.
Speaking about the second season, Davies said: “It was such a pleasure bringing Wicky and his gory career to life and I’m beyond thrilled we get to do it again. So thrilled that I intend not to mention how sweaty that hazmat suit gets under lighting. Put it like this, we had to burn it. Anyway, I’m still excited, thanks BBC.”
Executive producer Vivien Muller Rommel added: “We’re absolutely delighted to be back for a second series of The Cleaner, and the Christmas Special is going to be bloody marvellous, I promise.”
Season 2 of The Cleaner will once again be penned by the Taskmaster star himself, with one other co-writer per episode including Paul Allen, Ronan Blaney, Barry Castagnola, Meg Stalter and Mike Wozniak.
But who will join Davies in the cast of The Cleaner season 2 and what could it be about? Read on for everything you need to know.
When is The Cleaner season 2 release date?
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There’s still no word yet on when season two proper will air – but in the meantime, a Christmas special is airing over the 2022 festive period.
The special, titled A Clean Christmas, airs on BBC One on Friday 23rd December 2022 at 9pm and will see Wicky forced to contend with a crime scene in an ice cream parlour.
As for the next full season, British Comedy Guide reported back in April 2022 that The Cleaner was due to return to filming later in 2022 – but there’s been no further word yet.
We’d expect the series to be back on our screens before too long, and we’ll keep this page updated as and when we hear further developments.
The Cleaner season 2 cast: who’s likely to return?
The only cast member confirmed to return for The Cleaner season 2 so far is Greg Davies, who is set to reprise his role as Wicky.
We would also expect Zita Sattar to return to the show as police officer and Ruth, given that the season 1 finale hinted at a developing relationship between the pair.
However, it’s not yet clear whether any of the cast of The Cleaner season 1 will return for the next run, or whether the series’ second instalment will feature an entirely new cast.
Potential returning guest stars from season 1 include:
- Shobu Kapoor as Neeta
- Helena Bonham Carter as Sheila
- Ruth Madeley as Helena
- Georgie Glen as Mrs Gathernoid
- David Mitchell as Terence Redford
- Stephanie Cole as Vivienne Hosier
- Donald Sumpter as Sir James
- Layton Williams as Hosea
- Jo Hartley as Maggie
- Esmonde Cole as Tony
- Barry Castagnola as Weasel
What will The Cleaner season 2 be about?
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The first season of The Cleaner left a few threads hanging, particularly with regards to Wicky and his relationship with police officer Ruth.
While we can expect the second season to pick up where season 1 left off, official plot details are yet to be confirmed and viewers will have to wait for more information.
Speaking about the possibility of a second season back in September 2021, Davies gave a few hints about the direction and future of the show, revealing that the possibilities were “limitless”.
“I think the scope for this show, of taking on difficult subjects, is one of the things that really excites me about it,” he said.
“And by putting in a straightforward, compassionate person as the connecting individual, I think it’s limitless where we could go with it and the things we could discuss, things that we could put his innocent eyes on.
“I mean, you know, I don’t want to tempt fate, but I would love to continue with it,” he added. “And Mizzi [Meyer, writer of the original German version] made it very clear that she’d be happy for us to, you know, much like other shows have done, to go off on our own trajectory.”
Davies went on to say he would love the second season to delve deeper into Wicky’s history while also “exposing him to increasingly challenging things”.
Is there a trailer for The Cleaner season 2?
Hold your horses! Unfortunately, it’s too soon to expect a trailer for The Cleaner 2.
But watch this space – we’ll update this page as soon as we know more.
The Cleaner Christmas special airs on Friday 23rd December 2022 at 9pm. The first season is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. 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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