The Cleaner
Comedy with Greg Davies. Wicky is a crime scene cleaner - after CSI has finished, he mops up any grizzly remains. And you’d be amazed who you can run into at the scene of a crime…
We chatted to Layton Williams about his role in this new BBC comed.
Tell us a bit about your character in The Cleaner - what attracted you to the role?
My amazing, beautiful, talented lol character ‘Home Alone Hosea’ is an influencer and is social media obsessed. He got left by his parents in a big house all by himself when he was younger and he became an internet sensation. But with that of course comes a lot of tougher moments because he didn’t get to see or do much in the real world.
This is why I think the relationship between Hosea and Wicky is so amazing, because they are two very unlikely friends, people you wouldn’t think would get along but they do. But Hosea has a really good heart and by the end of the episode you feel for him and realise he is a good kid. He thinks he is doing these things for the likes on social media, but comes to understand that life is not about the double taps.
When I read the script I remember thinking, this is a bit of me. I kept reading and reading and it was a time when I was taking a break from everything because of the pandemic - theatres were closing and I was free! So it was amazing having a whole episode as a guest ‘star’, even though I don’t like to call myself a star! The line-up is iconic! I mean if Helena Bonham Carter is getting an episode, I wanted one!
When I went to my chemistry read with Greg I saw a medic who was getting all hyped, and I knew they had a story to tell that they wanted to get it off their chest, so I was like, "go on what do you want to say?" and they said "I just had to put a swab down Helena Bonham Carter’s mouth!" I was like, "OH, what’s she doing here?!" and then I realised she was in the cast too and I was like, oh my God!. I am so excited to see everyone else’s episodes and I’m just really privileged to star alongside such a stellar group of people.
What was the most enjoyable part of filming for you?
The location - it was unreal. The crib we were filming in was iconic, it was all very eco-friendly and everything was self-serviced by natural movements of the light. I don’t know the science behind it, but it was lit and I was really bouncing around the place as if it was mine. Every day was a new fun experience. One day we are on space hoppers, another we are on bicycles, I know it sounds weird, but I don’t ride a bike very often so it was so much fun. Next thing you know we are playing sports games with bats! We were really put through our paces but it was so fun and I was constantly surprised by what was going on in that moment. I beamed all week!
I also loved the costume, the make-up and the set designs - the team was a whole bunch of huns, we were all on the same page and it all just pops on the screen!
How was it working with Greg?
Working with Greg was iconic - he is an absolute star, and such a lovely guy! You never really know what people are like when you see them on TV, we all put on a persona when we have to, but he is just amazing. We were laughing so much on screen and off screen, and had an absolute lol, we’d be singing all day, it was an absolute pleasure. He was really patient and open to letting me try different things and if I said "Can we try it like this?" or "I think the kids would like this", that’s not me thinking I’m young, but if I thought something might work he’d say "Yeah go for it!". So we had lots of improvisation moments which I hope make it in!
Are there any funny anecdotes from filming you can share?
It was so much fun spraying the jam, even though I did some accidental sprays when I shouldn’t have. I did a pirouette with the syringe in my hand and said "Oh my God, maybe I should try this" and I literally squirted the blood the whole way around the room and it was a clean squirt! I thought, oh no, what am I gonna do! So they had to make me repeat the squirt a few days later for continuity! It was amazing, but don’t go running round doing pirouettes when you are squirting blood because things will get dirty!
If you ever met a real crime scene cleaner, what would you ask them?
I would ask. "How do you sleep at night?" because I would be traumatised! When I walked in and saw all the blood, it made me feel sick even though it was fake! So ‘How do they turn off from work life and not think about the dead bodies they’ve been cleaning up all day?
The Cleaner will air weekly on BBC One from 9.30pm on Friday 10 September and will be available as a box set on BBC iPlayer.
Layton stars in EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE touring production from September 2021 across the UK including:
ABERDEEN His Majesty's Theatre
9 - 13 November 2021
EDINBURGH Festival Theatre
29 March - 2 April 2022
GLASGOW Theatre Royal
26 - 30 April 2022