The Cleaner season 2: Release date, cast and latest news
Everyone’s favourite crime scene cleaner is soon back on our screens.
Roughly 15 months after it first aired, Greg Davies's BBC One comedy The Cleaner is returning for season 2 – with crime scene cleaner Paul 'Wicky' Wickstead set to face a new batch of blood-soaked crime scenes and eccentric characters.
The sitcom – which is based on the German series Der Tatortreiniger – was officially renewed for a second season in 2022, and last year's festive episode kept fans going as they waited for further news on when the second run will arrive.
Well, the release date is imminent as The Cleaner season 2 is set to arrive on our screens this Friday 24th March and will see Davies reprise his role as Wicky, a character based on Heiko 'Schotty' Schotte (Bjarne Mädel) from Der Tatortreiniger.
Of course, the second season has to keep up the comedy's reputation for landing some stellar guest stars with the new cast including Asim Chaudhry (People Just Do Nothing), Harriet Walter (Succession), Simon Callow (Four Weddings and a Funeral) and more.
The news of The Cleaner's renewal was announced during a speech by Jon Petrie, Director of BBC Comedy, who unveiled a package of new commissions and objectives set out by the broadcaster, before committing to an extra £10 million in new comedy programming over the next two years.
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Speaking about the second season, Davies said: "It was such a pleasure bringing Wicky and his gory career to life and I’m beyond thrilled we get to do it again. So thrilled that I intend not to mention how sweaty that hazmat suit gets under lighting. Put it like this, we had to burn it. Anyway, I’m still excited, thanks BBC.”
Season 2 of The Cleaner is once again penned by the Taskmaster star himself, with one other co-writer per episode including Paul Allen, Ronan Blaney, Barry Castagnola, Meg Stalter and Mike Wozniak.
But who will join Davies in the cast of The Cleaner season 2 and what will it be about? Read on for everything you need to know.
When is The Cleaner season 2 release date?
British Comedy Guide reported back in April 2022 that The Cleaner was due to return to filming in 2022 – and we can now confirm that The Cleaner season 2 will be landing on our screens on Friday 24th March 2023 at 9:30pm on BBC One.
Episodes will follow suit and air every Friday at the same time on BBC One, with episodes also available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
The Cleaner season 2 cast: who’s likely to return?
The only cast member confirmed to return for The Cleaner season 2 is Greg Davies, who is set to reprise his role as Wicky.
Zita Sattar is also returning to the show as police officer PS Ruth Edwards but the series’s second instalment will feature an entirely new cast of familiar faces.
The cast for The Cleaner season 2 is as follows.
- Asim Chaudhry as Karl
- Harriet Walter as Lisa
- Simon Callow as Mr Abahassine
- Roisin Conaty as Her
- Rudi Dharmalingam as Him
- Zoë Wanamaker as Lucile
- John MacMillan as Strazzamo
- Alex Lawther as Dan
- Susannah Fielding as Fran
- Mark Lewis Jones as Richard
- Joshua McCord as Timber
- Louis Emerick as Vince
- Amy Morgan as 'manager'
- Charlie Rawes as Cuddle
- Jemma Carlton as Selina
- Shakin’ Stevens
- Rebecca Lee
- Cassius Thompson
What will The Cleaner season 2 be about?
The first season of The Cleaner left a few threads hanging, particularly with regards to Wicky and his relationship with police officer Ruth.
While we can expect the second season to pick up where season 1 left off, the official synopsis for the new instalment reads: "Armed again with his chemicals, scrubbing brushes and cleaning rags, Wicky removes more gruesome remains at the scenes of new crimes, including in a theatre, an electrical goods store, and a stately home.
"It is here he meets some more unusual characters and gets sucked into their worlds as he can’t help but gossip as he cleans, all the while trying to get down to the pub."
Speaking about the possibility of a second season back in September 2021, Davies gave a few hints about the direction and future of the show, revealing that the possibilities were "limitless" so we can't wait to see what this series has in store.
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He said: "I think the scope for this show, of taking on difficult subjects, is one of the things that really excites me about it.
"And by putting in a straightforward, compassionate person as the connecting individual, I think it's limitless where we could go with it and the things we could discuss, things that we could put his innocent eyes on.
"I mean, you know, I don't want to tempt fate, but I would love to continue with it," he added. "And Mizzi [Meyer, writer of the original German version] made it very clear that she'd be happy for us to, you know, much like other shows have done, to go off on our own trajectory."
Davies went on to say he would love the second season to delve deeper into Wicky’s history while also "exposing him to increasingly challenging things".
Is there a trailer for The Cleaner season 2?
There is! And in typical The Cleaner fashion, we see Wicky coming across some very weird and wonderful new characters. Watch it below.
The Cleaner season 2 airs on Friday 24th March at 9:30pm. The first season is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
If you’re looking for something else to watch, take a look at the rest of our Comedy coverage or check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
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