Jo Joyner reacts to Shakespeare & Hathaway's fate after show’s future was left uncertain

It's no surprise, then, that leading stars Jo Joyner, Mark Benton and Patrick Walshe McBride are all back for the Stratford-upon-Avon based series.

The fifth instalment is a co-commission by BBC Content and UKTV, with Joyner revealing her own reaction to the happy news of the show's renewal. Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press during a visit to the season 5 set, Joyner was asked if she was excited to be back on the cosy crime drama after previously being unsure of the show's future.

She said: "Yeah, I'm trying to think now because I've done quite a bit of press over the last couple of years and people constantly asked. I must admit more than any other show I've ever done, even EastEnders, it's the one thing that the public asked me all the time about.

"I'd say everyday, I get a DM or a message about it, whether it's coming back or not. So I know that I was speaking to some press recently this year and I knew by then that it was probably coming back, I was like bursting to say something."

She added: "I'm absolutely thrilled because I have such a soft spot for this show – not just because it's near home and I get to be at home or that I get to work with such lovely people, like the boys are just fantastic in this and I really relish working with them."

Joyner continued: "I just think as well that it's created such a lovely following. We have the nicest fans and it restores your faith in humankind that people don't just want to watch kids being kidnapped, people being ripped apart and that actually, people really are fond of something like this and it especially, as well, gets a bit bleaker. So I'm chuffed."

The new series comes to U&Alibi this week, and will also be premiering on the BBC and iPlayer at a later date. There's set to be plenty of cases for the team to crack this time round, with the synopsis teasing: "Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators are back on the case in this charming comedy crime drama, working the cobbled streets of Stratford-Upon-Avon to solve more thrilling mysteries and murders most foul.

"Grumpy ex-cop Frank and warm-hearted ex-hairdresser Lu have gone their separate ways. But all that changes when they’re forced to work together again, alongside their luvvie assistant Sebastian."

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The synopsis continues: "A remote team-building retreat, paintballing and a corporate spy offers the perfect opportunity for our newly reformed gang to test their loyalties, until their client is electrocuted right in front of them.

"An invitation to a Murder Mystery School Reunion reunites Frank with an ex-girlfriend, but it’s game over when the team find themselves trapped in an isolated mansion with a killer on the loose.

"Stratford’s annual ‘Horror-upon-Avon’ convention is rocked when a movie director is killed after reportedly being terrorised by his own creations. But in their search for a killer, Frank and Lu find themselves starring in a horror movie of their own."

It adds: "And when Lu returns from holiday to discover her house has been stolen, Frank, Sebastian and tech whizz Spider pull out all the stops to help find the culprit before Lu loses everything.

"But unbeknownst to our gang, something wicked this way comes… a saboteur hides in the shadows determined to destroy Shakespeare & Hathaway for good. Can our gang pull together in time to find the culprit before it’s too late?"

Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators season 5 is coming to U&Alibi on Wednesday 24th September.

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