Shakespeare & Hathaway - Private Investigators. Image shows from L to R: Frank Hathaway (Mark Benton), Luella Shakespeare (Jo Joyner). Copyright: BBC
Shakespeare & Hathaway - Private Investigators

Shakespeare & Hathaway - Private Investigators

  • TV comedy drama
  • BBC One
  • 2018 - 2022
  • 40 episodes (4 series)

Comedy drama about an oddball pair of private detectives. Stars Mark Benton, Jo Joyner, Patrick Walshe McBride, Amber Aga, Tomos Eames and more.

Episode menu

Series 2, Episode 2 - The Play's The Thing

Shakespeare & Hathaway - Private Investigators. Image shows from L to R: Frank Hathaway (Mark Benton), Ewan Clarence (Marek Larwood), Adrian Messenger (Dominic Coleman)
When a LARP (live action role-play) battle in the woods goes wrong, Lu and Frank must clear the Queen's name and catch the culprit.

Further details

Adrian Messenger, creator of The Legends of Engelworld, successfully controls the loves and lives of his LARP characters, but struggles with his own. He suspects wife Maggie, aka Queen Margaret, of having an affair with the Duke of Yorcastria, aka Major Tony Suffolk, and employs Frank and Lu to find proof.

Undercover in the game, Frank and Lu witness a devastated Maggie threatening to kill Tony when he breaks things off. When Tony, along with Adrian's assistant Katie, is shot during battle by real arrows fired by Maggie, it seems an open and shut case, although Maggie denies knowing her arrows were real.

Adrian begs Frank and Lu to prove Maggie's innocence - there are others in Engelworld that might want Tony hurt, including Ewan Clarence, whose King was recently murdered by Tony's Duke. But is the crown of Engelworld really worth killing for...?

Broadcast details

Date
Tuesday 26th February 2019
Time
2:15pm
Channel
BBC One
Length
45 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Tuesday 18th February 2020 2:15pm BBC1
Saturday 8th May 2021 8:00pm Drama
Wednesday 16th March 2022 2:15pm BBC1
Wednesday 16th March 2022 3:00pm BBC1 Scot
Saturday 10th September 2022 8:00pm Drama
Thursday 18th May 2023 8:00pm Drama
Thursday 31st August 2023 9:00pm Drama

Cast & crew

Cast
Mark Benton Frank Hathaway
Jo Joyner Luella Shakespeare
Patrick Walshe McBride Sebastian Brudenell
Amber Aga DI Marlowe
Roberta Taylor Gloria Fonteyn
Guest cast
Dominic Coleman Adrian Messenger
Ray Fearon Major Tony Suffolk
Emma Fryer Maggie Messenger
Marek Larwood Ewan Clarence
Sophie Stone Katie Harper
Writing team
Paul Matthew Thompson Story Consultant
Jude Tindall Story Consultant
Dan Muirden Writer
Production team
Matt Carter Director
Ella Kelly Producer
Will Trotter Executive Producer
Fiona Black Line Producer
Neil Irvine Script Producer
James Hey Editor
Nick Turner Production Designer
Laura McSwan Casting Director
Stephen Moore Casting Director
Claire Collins Costume Designer
Chris Preston Director of Photography
Helen Smith Make-up Designer
Debbie Wiseman Composer
Giles Dearn 1st Assistant Director

Press

Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators review

Easy chemistry between stars Mark Benton and Jo Joyner and clever twists offset the silliness of this hammy detective series.

Sarah Hughes, i Newspaper, 25th February 2019

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