Shakespeare and Hathaway future confirmed – just 3 weeks after season 5 release

Cosy crime drama Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators has officially been renewed for a sixth season, even as the fifth run is only part-way through its run on U&Alibi.

Filming on the new season has started this week in Stratford-Upon-Avon, and it will debut on U&alibi in 2026, before launching later on the BBC and iPlayer.

The sixth season, which will once again star Mark Benton and Jo Joyner, sees Patrick Walshe McBride's Sebastian Brudenell win his dream role in LA, so he drafts in his old friend from RADA.

This leads to the entrance of new character Bea Gardiner to the team, played by Aruhan Galieva (Doctor Who), who is described as "a fresh face and dynamic new addition to the team, stepping into the role of assistant".

Joyner said in a statement: "I’m absolutely delighted to be back with Mark in beautiful Warwickshire filming the sixth series, I’m looking forward to Lu muddling her way through more mysteries – playing Luella is like slipping into a comfy pair of very bright, fluffy pink slippers!"

Meanwhile, Benton added: "When I heard we were given the green light for series 6, I was thrilled. The show is very special to us. My partnership with Jo, the most wonderful crew and a script full of warmth, comedy and mystery. What a joy!"

The series, which was created by Paul Matthew Thompson and the late Jude Tindall, series follows an unlikely pair of private investigators – hardboiled ex-cop Frank Hathaway and warm-hearted ex-hairdresser Lu Shakespeare.

Each episode follows the duo as they work the cobbled streets of Stratford-upon-Avon, solving thrilling cases and murders most foul.

Season 5 arrived three years after season 4 landed, and was the first run of the show to be a co-commission by BBC Content and UKTV, after the show originally aired as a BBC daytime series.

On the show's return, Joyner told RadioTimes.com and other press on the set of season 5: "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."

Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators season 5 is airing on U&Alibi on Wednesdays at 8pm.

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