Have you ever wondered what happens after a grisly crime occurs and the police have left the scene? Admittedly, despite watching a lot of detective series, we’d never really thought about the clean-up effort. That was until we stumbled across Helena Bonham Carter’s terrific drama The Cleaner, which is the brainchild of Greg Davies.
The first series of the genius dark comedy premiered on the BBC in 2021 and racked up a huge 5.4 million viewers. So, what’s behind the success? Well, an unconventional format and a stellar cast of actors (including Helena, Ruth Madeley and David Mitchell). Each episode follows Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead (Greg Davies), a professional crime scene cleaner, as he encounters a lot of mess and colourful characters, including a wacky widow (Helena Bonham Carter) – and dare we say, it’s her best series since The Crown….
With a recently announced Christmas special, now’s the perfect time to catch up on the first three series! Here’s everything you need to know about The Cleaner, including the plot, cast and how to watch it.
What is The Cleaner about?
The series, which is also written by Greg, follows him as ‘Cleaner’ Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead, mopping up the horrible aftermath of various crime scenes and accidents. Davies adapted the series from the long-running German series Der Tatortreiniger, and each episode is a standalone story as he encounters quirky new characters at each job, ranging from: victims’ relatives and employers to neighbours and even murderers! While he’s excellent at getting the gruesome crime scenes spotless, he excels even more at gossip (and making sure he gets to the pub on time).
In the first series, Wicky encounters Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Sheila, a widow – but (no spoilers) she’s not exactly grieving… When Wicky arrives at the scene, it turns out to be quite the fiery exchange, as the erratic Sheila is on the run and makes a series of threats to him while wielding a gun!
Helena, who’s known for playing wonderfully eccentric characters, spoke about taking on the character of Sheila. ‘It’s been brilliant fun working with Greg and the team on The Cleaner,’ she told the BBC at the time. “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.’
What to read next
And our favourite cleaner is back for a Christmas special, set in Italy! In the show’s first ever one-hour special, he reluctantly joins his girlfriend, police sergeant Ruth Edwards (Zita Sattar), and her friends Andrew and Andrea (Robert Webb and Tori Allen-Martin) on a hiking trip to the Italian Dolomites. But when an accident occurs, he’s forced to spend the rest of the trip indoors surrounded by peculiar guests and the eccentric hotel manager (Peter Serafinowicz).
‘I think Wicky has got to the stage in life where he only likes three things: his job, going to the pub and beer,’ Greg Davies told the BBC. ‘To get the opportunity to force him to go to Italy on a hiking holiday is the perfect way to test his breaking point. I can’t wait to show everyone how horribly wrong a holiday can go…’
Who’s in the cast of The Cleaner?
The cast of The Cleaner includes:
- Greg Davies (The Inbetweeners) as Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead
- Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown) as Sheila
- David Mitchell (Upstart Crow, Back) as Terence Redford
- Stephanie Cole (Still Open All Hours) as Vivien
- Donald Sumpter (Game Of Thrones) as Sir James
- Shobu Kapoor (Four Weddings And A Funeral) as Neeta
- Ruth Madeley (Years And Years) as Helena
- Layton Williams (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie musical) as Hosea
- Zita Sattar (Casualty) as Ruth
- Georgie Glen (The Crown, Call The Midwife) as Mrs Gathernoid
- Bill Skinner (Ted Lasso) as Mickey Boy
- Esmonde Cole (Still So Awkward) as Tony
The cast of The Cleaner’s Christmas special includes:
- Robert Webb (Peep Show, That Mitchell And Webb Look)
- Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians Of The Galaxy, Amandaland)
- Kevin Eldon (Hot Fuzz, Four Lions)
- Tori Allen-Martin (Here We Go)
- Veronica Ferres (Call My Agent Berlin)
- Milanka Brooks (Black Mirror)
- Dylan Blore (Shetland)
Is The Cleaner any good?
Yes – while we absolutely love a detective drama, this is a completely different take on the genre. Greg Davies is absolutely hilarious as the lead who’d much rather be at the pub then mopping up blood (to be honest, who wouldn’t?). The writing is full of hysterical one-liners and unforgettable characters, such as Helena Bonham Carter, who delivers her best performance since playing the effervescent Princess Margaret in The Crown.
Is there a trailer for The Cleaner?
Yes – you can watch the trailer for series 3 of The Cleaner below.
How can I watch The Cleaner?
You can watch The Cleaner now via BBC iPlayer.
What other Helena Bonham Carter dramas can I watch now?
If you’re wanting to solve some crimes rather than clean them up, we’d point you towards Netflix’s Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials in which Helena she stars as Lady Caterham, one of the guests at a murderous party in a lavish English house in 1952. When a practical joke goes very wrong, we follow Lady Eileen ‘Bundle’ Brent (Mia McKenna-Bruce) unravel the gripping whodunnit. Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials is available to stream now on Netflix now. If you fancy an epic royal period drama, we’d recommend The Crown, where Helena brings the rebellious and free-spirited Princess Margaret to life in series 3 as she embarks on a love affair. The Crown is available to watch now on Netflix.
