The Cleaner (British TV series)

The Cleaner
GenreSitcom
Created byGreg Davies[1]
Based onDer Tatortreiniger
Written byGreg Davies
Various
Directed byTom Marshall
Dominic Brigstocke
Alex Winckler
StarringGreg Davies
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series3
No. of episodes19
Production
Executive producersVivien Muller-Rommel
Ben Caudell
Alex Moody
ProducerSam Ward
EditorsGavin Buckley
Richard Halladey
Running time30 minutes
Production companyStudio Hamburg UK
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release10 September 2021 (2021-09-10) –
present

The Cleaner is a British television sitcom created by and starring Greg Davies, which premiered on BBC One on 10 September 2021.[2] The series is based on the German comedy Der Tatortreiniger ("Crime Scene Cleaner").[1] A second series, with a Christmas special, began airing on 23 December 2022.[3] A third series was announced in January 2024[4] and began airing on 4 October 2024.

Plot

[edit]

Paul "Wicky" Wickstead, a government-certified cleaning technician, is responsible for the removal of any signs of death, injury or other biohazard debris from crime scenes. In the course of his work, he gets to know a variety of people.

Cast

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Main

[edit]
  • Greg Davies as Paul "Wicky" Wickstead, a crime scene cleaner who visits various people each episode (all episodes)
  • Zita Sattar as PS Ruth Edwards, a police officer who is close friends (later girlfriend of) with Wicky (several episodes)[5]

Guest cast

[edit]

Episodes

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SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1610 September 2021 (2021-09-10)22 October 2021 (2021-10-22)
Special23 December 2022 (2022-12-23)
2624 March 2023 (2023-03-24)28 April 2023 (2023-04-28)
364 October 2024 (2024-10-04)8 November 2024 (2024-11-08)

Series 1 (2021)

[edit]
No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byBBC iPlayer release dateBBC One broadcastUK viewers (millions)[a][9]
11"The Widow"Tom MarshallGreg Davies10 September 2021 (2021-09-10)10 September 20213.42
Wicky is called to a suburban crime scene where everything is anything but normal. His efforts are impeded by the arrival of an officious neighbour, and then the rather eccentric murderer herself arrives to try and convince him into helping her abscond.
22"The Writer"Tom MarshallGreg Davies10 September 2021 (2021-09-10)17 September 2021N/A (<3.02)[b]
Wicky deals with one of his more tricky clients, a prickly novelist who obsesses over quiet, resistance to unbottling his emotions, the subtleties of a classical author, and the contents of the sandwich in his packed lunch.
33"The Neighbour"Tom MarshallGreg Davies10 September 2021 (2021-09-10)24 September 2021N/A (<2.94)[b]
Wicky is left out in the cold when he's unable to attend his latest crime scene, and meets his match when he meets someone who challenges the values and ways of life he holds dear.
44"The Aristocrat"Alex WincklerGreg Davies10 September 2021 (2021-09-10)1 October 20213.24
Wicky meets the owner of a house where a burglar has died. She tells him of famous visitors who have sat on her couch, including Winston Churchill.
55"The Influencer"Tom MarshallGreg Davies10 September 2021 (2021-09-10)8 October 20213.11
Wicky finds himself reliving his youth when called to clean the den of online influencer Hosea and discovers it's a shrine to the 1980s, before realising said influencer is desperately lacking a father figure (after his parents moved abroad without him when he was 16) and gets enlisted to recreate the crime scene to boost Hosea's flagging profile.
66"The One"Tom MarshallGreg Davies10 September 2021 (2021-09-10)22 October 2021[c]N/A (<3.11)[b]
Wicky's next job proves personal, when he learns he knows the owner of the holiday home he's cleaning up – a former girlfriend who left him twenty years ago on his thirtieth birthday. Having been besotted with her, catching up proves an awkward experience, especially as, after Wicky discovers a set of anonymous love letters, both receive some home truths about their time together.

Christmas special (2022)

[edit]
No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateUK viewers (millions)
7–"A Clean Christmas"Dominic BrigstockeGreg Davies and Ronan Blaney23 December 2022 (2022-12-23)[3]N/A (<3.17)[d]
Wicky is sent to clean up an ice cream parlour on Christmas Day, following the murder of the owner. He plans to attend a raffle at the pub afterwards, but one of the parlour's regular customers gets in his way.

Series 2 (2023)

[edit]
No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateUK viewers (millions)[a][9]
81"The Transaction"Tom MarshallGreg Davies and Meg Salter24 March 2023 (2023-03-24)3.04
Wicky is sent to clean up after the manager of a pub dies; conversations unveil secrets between the landlady of the pub, the now-deceased manager, and the surly bartender.
92"The Clown"Tom MarshallGreg Davies and Paul Allen31 March 2023 (2023-03-31)N/A (<2.71)[d]
Wicky is called to a theatre after a brawl at a strip show, and while there meets the theatre's manager, a less than thrilled employee and a man scheduled for a performance later. After hearing about how he got became a performer, Wicky starts to think about the other career options he could have taken.
103"The Nightshift"Tom MarshallGreg Davies7 April 2023 (2023-04-07)N/A (<2.50)[d]
While cleaning up after a shooting at an electronics store, Wicky meets the eccentric night-shift employee who appears to be a conspiracy theorist.
114"The Shaman"Tom MarshallGreg Davies and Barry Castagnola14 April 2023 (2023-04-14)N/A (<2.67)[d]
Wicky's latest job, cleaning up after the death of a homeless man, is hampered by the presence of a shaman employed to free spirits from the property, whose obnoxious behaviour compels Wicky to become determined to expose him a fraud.
125"The Statue"Tom MarshallGreg Davies and Mike Wozniak21 April 2023 (2023-04-21)N/A (<2.50)[d]
Wicky finds himself caught up in a contentious debate around the removal of a statue of a controversial local historical figure after he is employed by the local council to clean up after a protest carried out by a descendent of its subject against the replacement statue of a giant chickpea.
136"The Dead End"Dominic BrigstockeGreg Davies28 April 2023 (2023-04-28)N/A (<2.55)[d]
After Wicky is called out to rural Wales to clean up after a brutal murder, he begins to re-evaluate his life after a discussion with the undertaker.

Series 3 (2024)

[edit]
No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateUK viewers (millions)[a][9]
141"The Reunion"Tom MarshallGreg Davies4 October 2024 (2024-10-04)2.80
152"The Baby"Tom MarshallGreg Davies11 October 2024 (2024-10-11)2.55
163"The Committee"Tom MarshallGreg Davies18 October 2024 (2024-10-18)N/A
174"The Lighthouse"Tom MarshallGreg Davies25 October 2024 (2024-10-25)TBD
185"The Housekeeper"Tom MarshallGreg Davies1 November 2024 (2024-11-01)TBD
196"The Wedding"Tom MarshallGreg Davies8 November 2024 (2024-11-08)TBD

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c 7-day consolidated, including device viewership and pre-transmission viewing.
  2. ^ a b c Not reported in the weekly top 15 programmes for four-screen viewer ratings.
  3. ^ Originally due to be shown on 15 October 2021; following the murder of David Amess MP, this episode was pulled – alongside Have I Got News for You – and replaced with a Miranda repeat.[10]
  4. ^ a b c d e f Not reported in the weekly top 50 programmes for four-screen viewer ratings.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Jones, Alice (26 August 2021). "Greg Davies: 'The notion that I'm an adult is just preposterous'". i. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b Carr, Flora (31 August 2021). "The Cleaner release date: Guide to BBC One crime scene comedy starring Greg Davies". Radio Times. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b Cormack, Morgan (20 December 2022). "The Cleaner Christmas special 2022: release date, cast and latest news for BBC comedy". Radio Times. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  4. ^ Richardson, Jay (9 January 2024). "Greg Davies' The Cleaner returning to BBC One for a third series". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "List of cast members". IMDb. 11 September 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Richards, Will (19 February 2021). "Helena Bonham Carter and David Mitchell to star in Greg Davies' new comedy 'The Cleaner'". NME. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Comedy role for Westhoughton actress Ruth Madeley in new BBC sitcom". The Bolton News. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  8. ^ Wilson, Chloe (31 August 2021). "Bury actor to appear in new BBC comedy alongside Greg Davies". The Bolton News. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  9. ^ a b c "Most viewed programmes". BARB. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  10. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (16 October 2021). "David Amess: Have I Got News for You and The Cleaner pulled from TV schedules after MP's death". The Independent. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
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