Helena Bonham Carter and Greg Davies to Star in BBC Comedy 'The Cleaner'

Helena Bonham Carter in "The Crown" (Photo: Netflix)

Helena Bonham Carter is moving on from the high drama of The Crown to a very different sort of series. She is joining The Inbetweeners' star Greg Davies in the cast of a BBC comedy titled simply The Cleaner. The series is an adaptation of the long-running German comedy series Der Tatorreiniger (Crime Scene Cleaner).

The series is written by Davies, and will follow Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead, a state-certified cleaning technician with a very special field of work: he is a crime-scene cleaner responsible for the removal of any signs of death.

Bonham Carter is best known for her slightly off-kilter dramatic roles like Madame Thenardier in Les Miserables, the cannibalistic Mrs. Lovett in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, or Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter movies. A comedy of any stripe, no matter how offbeat it might be, is certainly an interesting choice for her as an actress and something we haven't seen much of in the past.

The ensemble cast for The Cleaner also includes David Mitchell (Peep Show), Stephanie Cole (Doc Martin), Donald Sumpter (Game Of Thrones), Shobu Kapoor (Four Weddings And A Funeral), Ruth Madeley (Years And Years), Layton Williams (the Everybody’s Talking About Jamie musical), Zita Sattar (Casualty), Georgie Glen (The Crown), Bill Skinner (Ted Lasso) and Esmonde Cole (Still So Awkward).

The six-part series is produced by Studio Hamburg U.K. and was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, the chief content officer for the BBC, and Shane Allen, commissioning controller for BBC Comedy. There's no word yet about whether this series might make its way across the pond or where it might land if it does. But, as a wild guess, Hulu often seems to be an accommodating home for offbeat shows like this and seems as though it could be a safe bet. (Or maybe that's just wishful thinking, who can say.)

What do you think of The Cleaner? Sound like something you'd watch? Let's discuss in the comments.


Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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