Greg Davies Returns as Wicky in a Brand-New BBC Christmas Special of The Cleaner

Greg Davies steps back into the overalls of Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead for a brand-new festive special of The Cleaner, set to land on BBC One and BBC iPlayer over Christmas. The one-off episode, currently titled The Cleaner in Italy, expands the hit comedy with its first ever hour-long story — taking Wicky far from crime scenes and straight into holiday chaos in the Italian Dolomites.

⭐ A New Festive Misadventure for Wicky

Written by and starring Greg Davies, the Christmas special once again follows Wicky — the UK’s most reluctant crime-scene cleaner — whose job usually involves scrubbing away the aftermath of grisly incidents. This time, however, he’s dragged into a completely different kind of mess.

Wicky reluctantly agrees to join his girlfriend Ruth on a hiking holiday with her friends Andrew and Andrea. But when an accident derails the trip, Wicky ends up stranded at a remote mountain hotel while Ruth heads off to enjoy the scenery. With nothing to do and nowhere to go, Wicky quickly becomes entangled in the strange behaviour of the hotel’s eccentric manager, its peculiar guests and a staff who seem more suspicious by the hour. What begins as boredom soon spirals into paranoia — and Wicky’s holiday becomes far more stressful than any crime scene.

⭐ A Packed Guest Cast

The festive special features an impressive lineup of guest stars, including:

• Robert Webb – Peep Show, That Mitchell and Webb Look
• Peter Serafinowicz – Guardians of the Galaxy, Amandaland
• Kevin Eldon – Hot Fuzz, Four Lions
• Tori Allen-Martin – Here We Go
• Veronica Ferres – Call My Agent Berlin
• Zita Sattar – Holby City
• Milanka Brooks – Black Mirror
• Dylan Blore – Shetland

Their characters populate the remote hotel, each adding to the offbeat humour and escalating tension of Wicky’s unwanted winter getaway.

⭐ A Proven BBC Comedy Hit

The Cleaner has consistently ranked among the UK’s most-watched scripted comedies.

• Series one launched to 5.4 million viewers, becoming the second biggest new BBC comedy of 2021.
• All three series placed in the top five most-viewed scripted comedies across the UK market in 2021, 2023 and 2024.

The Christmas special builds on that success with a fresh setting, a longer runtime and a festive twist on Wicky’s misadventures.

Greg Davies, writer and star of The Cleaner In Italy (w/t), says: “I think Wicky has got to the stage in life where he only likes three things: his job, going to the pub and beer. 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…”

Vivien Muller-Rommel, executive producer, says: “We’re absolutely delighted to be back with Greg, our brilliant guest cast and our fantastic crew for this very special episode of The Cleaner. There’s a real excitement about this one, and everyone involved is determined to make it our funniest adventure yet. We can’t wait for audiences to see it.”

Ben Caudell, commissioning editor for the BBC, says: “As filming begins on this new The Cleaner special, it’s a pleasure to see Greg Davies return to one of his most memorable creations. Wicky has become a standout character in British comedy, and Greg’s ability to place him in extraordinary situations is always a delight. This one-off episode brings together a terrific cast and an inventive new setting, and we’re very much looking forward to sharing it with viewers over the festive period.”

This brand-new Christmas special of The Cleaner adds even more strength to BBC One’s festive comedy offering. With Greg Davies leading an hour of paranoia, mischief and brilliantly awkward humour, the episode stands as one of the broadcaster’s key scripted highlights for the season.

It also sits alongside BBC’s other major Christmas animation, The Baddies — a family-friendly festive adaptation bringing laughter, warmth and classic Julia Donaldson storytelling to Christmas Day. Together, these titles showcase the BBC’s commitment to delivering standout Christmas entertainment across comedy, animation and family viewing.

As viewers settle in for the holidays, The Cleaner Christmas Special promises sharp humour, a fresh setting and a cast packed with familiar faces — making it an essential addition to this year’s Christmas TV watchlist.