Zoë's new TV projects: The Cleaner and Criminal Record

5 October 2022 21:42

Zoë is filming not one but two fantastic TV shows. They both share a theme - grisly crimes - but spin off in radically different directions from that starting point.

The Cleaner on BBC One

The Cleaner sees Zoë making a welcome return to comedy - black comedy, to be precise. She's the guest star in an episode from the BBC One show's second series, which is currently in production. The Cleaner revolves around Paul "Wicky" Wickstead, played by Greg Davies, who also co-writes the episodes.

Wicky has an unenviable job cleaning up crime scenes. His work brings him into contact with the people affected by murder and other grim events. In the best British tradition, the characters he meets are wonderfully eccentric; and somehow the straight-talking cleaner always manages to wind them up!

Each episode finds Wicky tasked with cleaning up a different crime scene and encountering a different guest star. The Daily Mail has photos of Zoë's episode being filmed in Buckinghamshire. Her character looks rather posh in a quilted jacket and kilt. And Zoë looks even more petite than usual standing beside Davies, who towers over most people at 6ft 8in tall.

The release date for The Cleaner series two hasn't been announced yet, but hopefully it won't be long before the show comes to our screens.

While we wait, why not catch up with another weird and wonderful comedy series starring Zoë? Originally broadcast in 1993, The Older Woman is currently being repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra and available on BBC Sounds. Zoë plays a forthright English teacher, Miss Callaghan, who catches the eye of local journalist Roy Hitchcock (Martin Clunes). He's prone to flights of fancy - and just so happens to be one of her ex-pupils...

Criminal Record on Apple TV+

We can also look forward to watching Zoë work her acting magic in Criminal Record, a new eight-part drama series being produced for Apple TV+. The streaming service calls the show, which is written by Paul Rutman, a "powerful new London crime thriller". It adds that Criminal Record will tackle weighty subjects, including "issues of race, institutional failure, and the quest to find common ground in a polarised Britain". Filming for the show began in the city this summer.

Zoë's character, Maureen, is the mother of an up-and-coming detective, June Lenker (played by Cush Jumbo). Maureen is described in the Criminal Record press material as "anxious, loving and a constant voice in her daughter's ear" - so a kind-hearted character, perhaps with the potential to be a little interfering or clingy.

The show sees Maureen's daughter at loggerheads with a veteran detective, Daniel Hegarty, over an old murder case that led to a man named Errol Mathis being convicted of killing his partner. Mathis has since retracted his confession. Was the original investigation flawed?

I'm delighted to say there's a Constellations reunion on the cards here. Hegarty is played by Peter Capaldi, who acted opposite Zoë in Nick Payne's heart-warming, heart-breaking multiverse play seen in the West End last year. TV and film guide Looper says, "Wanamaker, in particular, is a fascinating name [in the cast], because she and Capaldi have acting history together."

No production photos or broadcast dates have been revealed yet, but the IMDB says Criminal Record is due for release in 2023.

Thanks to Janet and Sabrina for their help.

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