Amandaland Christmas Special TV review — Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley reunite for feelgood festivities

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At the start of the year, Amandaland might not have been top candidate for the sitcom most likely to become the star on the top of the BBC’s festive programming tree. It is an upbeat spin-off of the parenting sitcom Motherland, which preferred to play its dark comedy in a minor key. In Motherland, Amanda (Lucy Punch) was mostly the villain, the waspish leader of the “alpha mums”, though by the end of it she had been brought down a peg or two by her divorce. Motherland had two Christmas specials of its own, though the last of those, in 2022, was borderline harrowing, and its downbeat mood kept it away from a Christmas Day spot.

Amandaland saw Amanda forced to navigate her less affluent, post-divorce life in SoHa (South Harlesden). It softened Motherland’s spiky veneer, found sweetness in its slapstick, and became one of the BBC’s biggest new comedies in years. This festive special plays out to type, with Amanda’s wilful obnoxiousness being overridden by the fundamental human decency of her friends, relatives, and ultimately, of herself.

It starts slowly. Amanda, her two children and her mother Felicity (an acidic Joanna Lumley) are invited to spend Christmas at the family pile, hosted by the mythical Aunt Joan. Amanda has idolised Joan, her mother’s sister, for years, and her childhood memories of Christmas with Joan are perfect. Ever the aspiring influencer, Amanda has high hopes of recreating a family photograph of a pavlova, taken when she was small, and she organises the day around the mission. Through a series of contrivances, she is joined by her amiable love-interest neighbour Mal (Samuel Anderson) and sort-of best friend and fellow Motherland ex-pat Anne (Philippa Dunne), who find that life in a crumbling country house has its charms as well as its drawbacks.

This is a satire of the old-money posh. The house is freezing, everything is filthy, nothing works and the pets have free rein over the furniture and food. “Damp, dogs and desperation”, as Felicity observes. But really, the programme is a showcase for guest star Jennifer Saunders. She is an absolute treat as Aunt Joan, serving up a comedy masterclass, and when Christmas gets going in earnest, and a subplot involving a photograph of Mick Jagger kicks in, it becomes a gleeful farce. Whether listing party games of the aristocracy, or dusting off a sloe gin which may or may not have been made in 1978, Saunders is a hoot throughout.

This is a reunion for Saunders and Lumley, who spent years together on screen in Absolutely Fabulous. It attempts to inject some animosity between the sisters, as Joan is preternaturally upbeat and Felicity sour and withdrawn, but Amandaland is a sentimental show at heart, and it cannot hold its nerve for long. None of its characters are truly horrible, not even Felicity, who is barely recognisable from her cutting Motherland days. For Christmas, this works in its favour. A family mystery, of sorts, leaves most of the guests with a puzzle to solve, while Joan and Felicity get to kick back, reminisce and laugh at Amanda’s foibles.

Its frictionless edges feel smoother than they did in the series, which was hardly abrasive itself. But it is a silly, feelgood, heartwarming joy, perfect for this time of year.

★★★★☆

On BBC1 on December 25 at 9.15pm