Helena Bonham Carter and David Mitchell join cast of crime scene comedy

Helena Bonham Carter and David Mitchell have joined the cast of Greg Davies’ new comedy about a crime scene cleaner.

The Inbetweeners and Taskmaster star has written and will star in The Cleaner, which follows Paul “Wicky” Wickstead, a state-certified cleaning technician who is responsible for the removal of any signs of death.

While cleaning up the scene of a crime, he stumbles across an array of strange characters, from the victims’ relatives, employers, neighbours and acquaintances, to occasionally even the murderers themselves.

The show is based on the long-running German comedy series Der Tatortreiniger, created by Ingrid Lausund.

The Crown actress Bonham Carter and Peep Show star Mitchell join Davies in the cast, along with Stephanie Cole, Donald Sumpter, Shobu Kapoor, Ruth Madeley and Layton Williams.

Zita Sattar, Georgie Glen, Bill Skinner and Esmonde Cole will also feature.

Davies said: “I’m thrilled that this remarkable collection of actors has agreed to appear next to me on screen.

“Scrubbing up blood in a hazmat suit in front of them will be a pleasure.”

Shane Allen, commissioning controller for BBC comedy, said: “Pinched myself when I saw all this comedy and acting royalty in one show.

“It’s all down to Greg’s well-hewn scripts which take us into different character worlds in surprising and funny ways each week as Wicky has a transformative effect on those he comes across.

“The Cleaner delivers on BBC One’s unique commitment to make UK comedy for a mainstream audience.”