‘The best TV series in ages’ starring Taskmaster legend set to return

| Deputy TV editor Published July 21, 2026 3:41pm Updated July 21, 2026 3:42pm Your task is to enjoy The Cleaner! (Picture: Getty Images) Good news, telly fans! One of the most underrated BBC comedies is set to return this Christmas. The BBC has announced that The Cleaner, written and starring Taskmaster legend Greg Davies, is coming back for a brand new one-off special this festive season. The Cleaner, which follows dutiful if slightly eccentric crime scene cleaner Wicky (Davies), has been a smash hit for the BBC and was the second biggest new BBC comedy series in 2021. Indeed, the series has attracted a dedicated fanbase with yvettelangbridge writing on IMDb: ‘One of the best TV series this year, it made us laugh, not much has done that this last year!! It was well written, very well cast, poignant, and yet funny.’ This new Christmas special will reportedly follow Wicky as he reluctantly joins his girlfriend Ruth (Zita Sattar) and their friends Andrew and Andrea (Robert Webb and Tori Allen-Martin) on an Italian hiking holiday in theDolomites. When an accident forces the titular cleaner to spend the rest of his vacation in a hotel, however, Wicky’s paranoia starts to get the better of him, and he begins to suspect the hotel manager (Peter Serafinowicz) is up to no good. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video ‘I think Wicky has got to the stage in life where he only likes three things: his job, going to the pub and beer,’ Davies said in a press release announcing the show. ‘To get the opportunity to force him to go to Italy on a hiking holiday is the perfect opportunity to test his breaking point. I can’t wait to show everyone how horribly wrong a holiday can go…’ Davies had previously told Metro he wasn’t done with The Cleaner. A cleaner’s work is never done (Picture: BBC/ Studio Hamburg UK/Ryan O’) ‘I can tell you that at the moment, The Cleaner isn’t finished,’ he said. ‘That’s all I’m allowed to say.’ The Cleaner isn’t the only series Davies has starred in that might be returning. There are consistent rumours thatThe Inbetweeners might be about to return with Simon Bird, James Buckley, Joe Thomas and Blake Harrison all set to return along with creators Iain Morris and Damon Beesley. Davies made his name playing Mr Gilbert in The Inbetweeners (Picture: Channel 4) When we spoke to Davies, he admitted he’d heard mutterings about the legendary show’s return. ‘All I know is that it’s not without foundation that talks are afoot,’ he explained. ‘That’s all I know at the moment.’ However, Davies made it very clear he wants to be involved in whatever the next incarnation of The Inbetweeners is. ‘If I end up not being in that movie, there are people I won’t name who I will spend the rest of my life taking down, and the awful vengeance I will reap on those people,’ he laughed. The Cleaner series 1–3 are available on BBC iPlayer, and on BritBox International in Australia, North America and The Nordics. Deals of the Day Wuka launches the UK’s first period-proof swimwear for heavy flows Bridgerton fans are rushing to buy these new Netflix-inspired perfumes now £12 off The affordable summer wardrobe update you'll wear from rooftop drinks to beach holidays The £7.99 lip balm beauty fans love for glossy, hydrated lips just dropped four new shades This Keskine hydrogel mask could fix your summer skin TV Newsletter Sign up and tell us which TV shows you love to watch to get personalised updates every morning.