‘The Cleaner’: Helena Bonham Carter, David Mitchell & More Join Greg Davies Comedy
Upcoming BBC comedy ‘The Cleaner‘, written by and starring Greg Davies as a crime scene cleaning technician, has added a slew of cast, including Helena Bonham Carter and David Mitchell it has been announced.
Based on the multi-award-winning long-running German comedy series ‘Der Tatortreiniger’, Davies plays Paul “Wicky” Wickstead, a state-certified cleaning technician with a very special field of work: as a crime scene cleaner he is responsible for the removal of any signs of death. Armed with chemicals, scrubbing brushes and cleaning rags, Wicky removes the gruesome mess at the scene of the crime. When carrying out his duties, he stumbles across the strangest of people: from the victim’s relatives, employers, neighbours and acquaintances, to occasionally even the murderers themselves. And because he’s a sociable type, he sometimes gossips more than he cleans.
Additional cast announced today includes Helena Bonham Carter (‘The Crown’), David Mitchell (‘Upstart Crow’, ‘Back’), Stephanie Cole (‘Still Open All Hours’), Donald Sumpter (‘Game Of Thrones’), Shobu Kapoor (‘Four Weddings And A Funeral’), Ruth Madeley (‘Years And Years’), Layton Williams (‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ musical), Zita Sattar (‘Casualty’), Georgie Glen (‘The Crown’, ‘Call The Midwife’), Bill Skinner (‘Ted Lasso’) and Esmonde Cole (‘Still So Awkward’).
“Pinched myself when I saw all this comedy and acting royalty in one show,” comments Shane Allen, Commissioning Controller for BBC Comedy. “It’s all down to Greg’s well-hewn scripts which take us into different character worlds in surprising and funny ways each week, as Wicky has a transformative effect on those he comes across. The Cleaner delivers on BBC One’s unique commitment to make UK comedy for a mainstream audience.”
‘The Cleaner’ is produced by Studio Hamburg UK, and was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Chief Content Officer for the BBC and Shane Allen, Commissioning Controller for BBC Comedy. From Studio Hamburg UK the executive producer is Vivien Muller-Rommel and the producer is Sam Ward. The director is Tom Marshall and the casting director is Tracey Gillham. The commissioning editor for the BBC is Ben Caudell. BBC Studios will distribute the series globally, excluding German-language markets.
“I’m thrilled that this remarkable collection of actors has agreed to appear next to me on screen,” adds Greg Davies. “Scrubbing up blood in a hazmat suit in front of them will be a pleasure.”
‘The Cleaner‘ Season 1 is currently filming for the BBC, but doesn’t yet have a premiere date. We’ll let you know when we hear more.
