Shooting under way on Greg Davies sitcom

Helena Bonham Carter, David Mitchell and Stephanie Cole have joined the cast of Greg Davies’s new BBC One comedy The Cleaner.

Filming has started on the six-part series about Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead, a cleaner responsible for the removal of any signs of death from crime scenes.

Other actors announced in the cast today include Donald Sumpter, Shobu Kapoor, Ruth Madeley, Layton Williams, Zita Sattar, Georgie Glen, Bill Skinner and Esmonde Cole.

Davies, who wrote the comedy as well as starring in it, said: ‘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.’

Based on the long-running German comedy series Der Tatortreiniger, The Cleaner revolves around Wicky’s encoutners with the victim’s relatives, employers, neighbours and acquaintances - and occasionally even the murderers themselves. And because he’s a sociable type, he sometimes gossips more than he cleans.

Shane Allen, the BBC’s commissioning controller for comedy said: ‘I pinched myself when I saw all this comedy and acting royalty in one show.

‘It’s all down to Greg’s well-hewn scripts which take us in to 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."

Vivien Muller-Rommel, from production company Studio Hamburg UK, added: ‘We couldn’t have wished for a better clean-up crew to bring Greg’s brilliant scripts to life.’

Broadcast details have yet to be announced.

Published: 18 Feb 2021