After a successful first series earlier this year, Motherland spin-off Amandaland is back for a seasonal special that delivers one of the best TV Christmas presents we could ask for — the on-screen reunion of Absolutely Fabulous stars Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders.
Divorced alpha mum Amanda (Lucy Punch) wants the perfect Christmas for her family, so she is planning on taking her teenage kids Georgie and Manus, along with her grumbling mother Felicity (Joanna Lumley), to her Aunt Joan’s (Jennifer Saunders) Cotswolds country house for Christmas Day.
Felicity is not thrilled at spending the day with her enthusiastic sister — “She’s all laughter and games and endless bloody cheeseboards” — and things get off to a bad start when their taxi doesn’t turn up, neighbour Mal (Samuel Anderson) is enlisted to drive them, and Amanda’s weeping friend Anne (Philippa Dunne) comes along after her flight to her family in Ireland is cancelled.
On paper, what follows when they arrive at Joan’s sounds like everything you would expect from a hundred other sitcom Christmas specials, from festive misunderstandings to a warm and fuzzy family reunion before the end credits. But a secret between Joan and Felicity, and the comic interactions between Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley as it all unravels, turns a standard slice of comedy into something extra special. This is also bolstered by Joanna’s disapproving expressions, and the deadpan delivery of lines like: “This is why I don’t go to therapy, some memories are best repressed…”
(There’s also a fantastic line just before the end, that we won’t spoil here.)
BBC
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Jennifer’s eye-wateringly funny portrayal of the warm, chaotic and slightly bonkers Joan is also a total highlight. The rest of the cast provide terrific support of course — yes, we know it’s Lucy Punch’s show, but while she has some great moments, it’s really Lumley and Saunders who are front and centre here (while Philippa Dunne and Samuel Anderson’s characters prove integral to the deliciously silly plot).
However, for fans of Ab Fab, this seasonal treat is all about Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders reuniting on screen in a scripted show for the first time since the Absolutely Fabulous movie in 2016.
Every scene they are in, together and separately, is a joy, but the highpoint of the episode has to be the moment, roughly 25 minutes in, when they are alone together as the sisters finally chat about their differences.
They are nothing like Edina and Patsy, of course (although both Joan and Felicity do appreciate a good bottle of champagne), but the pairing of the two actresses after almost a decade is just lovely, and watching them both burst out laughing together is enough to warm the heart of even the most Grinch-like viewer watching.
Amandaland airs on the BBC, with the Christmas special on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Christmas Day.
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Freelance film & TV writer, Digital Spy
Critic and writer Jo Berry has been writing about TV and movies since she began her career at Time Out aged 18. A regular on BBC Radio, Jo has written for titles including Empire, Maxim, Radio Times, OK!, The Guardian and Grazia, is the author of books including Chick Flicks and The Parents’ Guide to Kids’ Movies.Â
She is also the editor of website Movies4Kids. In her career, Jo has interviewed well-known names including Beyonce, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Kiefer Sutherland, Tom Cruise and all the Avengers, spent many an hour crushed in the press areas of award show red carpets. Jo is also a self-proclaimed expert on Outlander and Brassic, and completely agrees that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.