Shakespeare & Hathaway
Mark Benton and Jo Joyner on their fun daytime detective show set in William Shakespeare’s birthplace…
Mon-fri / BBC1
This isn’t a lavish period drama about Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway, but a modern-day crime drama, with Mark Benton and Jo Joyner as private investigators…
new crime drama Shakespeare & Hathaway monday-friday / BBC1 / 2.15Pm
When TV Times heard that Eastenders actress Jo Joyner and Waterloo Road’s Mark Benton were starring in a new drama called Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators, we hotfooted it to Stratford-upon-avon, where filming was taking place in the birthplace of the Bard.
But imagine our surprise when, on arrival to this picturesque market town that is the Mecca for fans of William Shakespeare, there was not a doublet or a ruff in sight!
This is because despite the title, this isn’t a period drama about the famed playwright and his wife, Anne Hathaway – although it is peppered with references to his plays.
In fact, it’s a contemporary, daytime crime series about a shambling, cash-strapped private eye called Frank Hathaway (played by Mark) and his new assistant Lu Shakespeare (Jo), whose previous job was working in a hair salon!
The unlikely duo team up after Lu hires Frank to investigate her fiancé, who she suspects of being unfaithful. When a shocking turn of events at Lu’s wedding results in a murder inquiry, it’s up to her and Frank to solve the crime – and before you can say ‘whodunit’, they’ve agreed to become partners in crime-solving!
To find out more, TV Times sat down with Jo, 40, and Mark, 52 at the atmospheric Wroxall Abbey Hotel – where, intriguingly, the message ‘Die Sally die!’ has been daubed in red on one of the bedroom windows as part of a Romeo and Juliet-themed episode currently being filmed there.
We have a chase down the river in those swan pedalos!’
mark benton
what are Frank and lu like? Jo: Lu is very fun and bubbly. That’s why people open up to her. Frank’s chaotic and skint! Mark: Frank’s a real scruff and his business is falling apart. It’s that thing of opposites together. Lu has a photographic memory, and he’s an old hand at being a detective because he used to be a policeman.
How do they react to each other when they team up?
Jo: Lu likes the challenge of someone who might be a bit pessimistic. Frank’s like a bear with a sore head, and she thrives on the challenge of cheering him up. Luckily, she’s got a thick skin!
Mark: And even though he’s grumpy most of the time, Frank does like having Lu around, especially as he can’t remember stuff and she can.
why does lu, a hairdresser, suddenly become a detective?! Jo: She’s about to get married after a whirlwind romance. Let’s just say she doesn’t know as much as she should about her fiancé and then Frank checks him out… Consequently she decides on a change and buys into the business. Frank’s got no choice – she either joins him or the business goes under.
are there a lot of shakespeare references?
Mark: Every episode is loosely based on a Shakespeare play. Not necessarily plots, sometimes it’s little hints or character names – it’s a really nice touch and another layer that we loved. But, funnily enough, our characters never mention the strange coincidence that they’re called Shakespeare and Hathaway! Jo: We could have a quiz in TV Times that asks: ‘How many Shakespeare references did you spot this week in Shakespeare & Hathaway?’
we love that idea! Have you done any shakespeare on the stage? Jo: Only at drama school.
Mark: I did Richard III with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford a long time ago. I’ve also done As You Like It at the National Theatre and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Lyric Hammersmith.
Have you ever known anyone who’s hired a private investigator? Jo: No, but I think I’d like to be one! I’m quite nosy and I like to ask lots of questions of people and find out as much information as I can.
Mark: I would be terrible. I’d have something right in front of my face and wouldn’t realise it was there.
there’s so much crime drama on tv. what’s different about this? Jo: It’s not some slick murder mystery where we go in and say:
‘I’ve got this, I’ve cracked it.’ And it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Mark: The comic tone of it will set it apart from Midsomer Murders and shows like that. You get to like the characters and the fact that they’re not perfect and don’t get on all the time.
can you see this becoming a longrunning show?
Jo: I think it could trot along happily for a long time particularly if we get the calibre of people that we’ve got coming along for it – the likes of Nick Moran, Timothy West and Morgana Robinson.
Mark: As long as the quality is there, then we would be there.
there’s some great physical comedy in the show, too…
Mark: Yeah, you can’t beat a good bit of slapstick, can you? In one episode, instead of a high-speed car chase, we have a chase down the River Avon in those swan pedalos!
Jo: We had a safety briefing. We were wearing wetsuits and we had stuntmen holding the pedalos. But the water was only up to our knees! I thought: ‘Seriously? I’d get in this with my kids!’
Shakespeare & hathaway is previewed on pages 50-51
We could have a quiz in TV Times that asks: ‘How many Shakespeare references did you spot?’
jo joyner