Shakespeare & Hathaway Renewed For Series 2 By BBC One Daytime!

BBC One daytime drama Shakespeare & Hathaway – Private Investigators recommissioned for second series

We were really blown away by the support the first series garnered and we can’t wait to see what they get up to next!

Dan McGolpin, BBC Controller of Programming and Daytime, has announced that BBC One Daytime drama Shakespeare & Hathaway – Private Investigators, starring Jo Joyner and Mark Benton, will return for a second series.

This follows a hugely successful launch series which generated exceptional audience feedback and was met with widespread critical acclaim.

Shakespeare & Hathaway – Private Investigators is the most watched Daytime series on catch up (+0.4m) to date, and has had a huge volume of traffic on iPlayer with over 2m requests so far. In the programme’s first week it was in the top 10 of all BBC content on iPlayer.

The series, produced by BBC Studios in Birmingham, averaged 2.11m viewers and a 26.4% audience share (against an average viewership of 1.0m/16% at this time on BBC One), making it the biggest drama launch for Daytime since Father Brown in 2013.

The series which was created by Paul Matthew Thompson and Jude Tindall, sees Frank Hathaway (Benton), a hardboiled private investigator, and his rookie sidekick Lu Shakespeare (Joyner) form the unlikeliest of partnerships as they investigate the secrets of rural Warwickshire’s residents.

Dan McGolpin says: “This new series has amused and delighted so many viewers with its inspired story-telling, intriguing characters and knowing comedy – all set in Shakespeare country. I’m very pleased to confirm that it will return to both BBC One Daytime and iPlayer early next year.”

Will Trotter, Head of Daytime Drama, BBC Studios says: “Series two will see Frank and Lu investigating kidnapped canines, locked room mysteries, dead ringers and doppelgängers, vice, fraud, extortion and identity theft. Our detectives will continue where they left off putting the world to rights as they snoop and pry. More ado in Stratford-Upon-Avon.”

Jo Joyner says: “I’m totally thrilled to have the chance to visit Lu, Frank and Sebastian again in the beautiful surroundings of the Warwickshire countryside. We were really blown away by the support the first series garnered and we can’t wait to see what they get up to next!”

Mark Benton says: “I’m so thrilled to be making the show again. The reaction was phenomenal and hopefully series two will be even better. Can’t wait.”

Shakespeare & Hathaway – Private Investigators is a BBC Studios production and produced in Birmingham. It was commissioned by Dan McGolpin, Controller BBC Programming and Daytime.

The full first series is available to watch on demand via BBC iPlayer.

Production credits for series two:

• Exec Producer – Will Trotter
• Script Producer – Neil Irvine
• Series Story Consultants – Paul Matthew Thompson and Jude Tindall

The series is set and filmed in Stratford-upon-Avon. The second series will begin filming in September 2018. BBC Worldwide is the global distributor. (BBC)