When Amanda Holden posed with Amandaland star Lucy Punch at a screening of the new BBC show, it was a case of “move over Holden, there’s a more famous Amanda on telly now!”. Rave reviews have greeted the show, which launched on Wednesday night, and which critics have described as “both hilarious and heartfelt,” saying Lucy “has never been better” as the central character Amanda Hughes. The Motherland spin-off series has already seen Lucy, 47, universally hailed as the main attraction, for her performance as overbearing single mum Amanda Hughes.
In Motherland, which was set in west London’s leafy Chiswick, Amanda was part of an ensemble of middle class mums. Set in leafy Chiswick, the hit series - which also starred Anna Maxwell Martin as Julia, Diane Morgan as Liz, Philippa Dunne as Anne and Tanya Moodie as Meg - ended in 2022. Now, Amandaland follows a new chapter in Amanda’s life, as she settles her two children into secondary school in South Harlesden (or SoHa) after being forced to downsize and downgrade her life following her divorce - swapping Waitrose for Tesco Metro.
Co-writer Holly Walsh says of Amanda’s plight: “To see somebody who thinks they’ve made it in life fall is a fun story to write. “South Harlesden is only about five miles away from Chiswick, but for Amanda that’s huge, as she’s so postcode-obsessed.”. Irish actress Phillipa also returns in Amandaland, as Amanda’s long suffering best friend Anne, and acting royalty Joanna Lumley, who had previously made guest appearances in Motherland, is now a main cast member as her narcissistic mother, Felicity.
“I’m always cast as savage old grannies and mothers and wizened, cruel aunts,” says the Ab Fab legend. But, despite Joanna Lumley’s stardust, this is very much Lucy’s moment to take the spotlight. And it’s been a long time coming . It’s taken the stunning blonde with razor-sharp comic timing 25 years of near misses and ugly stepsister roles, before she’s finally become the star. The privately educated actress was born in Hammersmith, west London, the daughter of Johanna and Michael Punch, a market research executive.
She attended the prestigious Godolphin and Latymer School, where notable alumni include TV presenter Davina McCall and TV chef Nigella Lawson. But Lucy dropped out of her history degree at University College London to follow her acting dreams and, after training at the National Youth Theatre, she achieved admirably swift success. She won a coveted role alongside her screen mum’s Absolutely Fabulous co-star, Jennifer Saunders and Vicar of Dibley star Dawn French in the 1999 BBC sitcom Let Them Eat Cake. Set before the French Revolution, she played Eveline De Plonge. Sadly, though, despite a stellar cast, the show was not a ratings winner and was axed after one series.
Jobbing roles followed, including Midsomer Murders and Doc Martin, before she decided to try and conquer the US - moving stateside in 2005. Lucy said: “I moved to the States because I kept getting cast as posh idiots. I was like ‘This is boring. I know I can do more than this.’” And she was right - landing a role in sitcom The Class in 2004, co-creator of which was David Crane of Friends fame.
She then got what she hoped would be a big break - winning a main role in a sitcom co-created by Friends creator David Crane. Lucy was a scene stealer in the show about a group of former classmates, which was widely touted to become the next Friends. Yet, despite hefty promotion, which included emblazoning the faces of Lucy and her co-stars across LA buses and billboards, the show launched to lukewarm reviews and was widely regarded as a failure. Still, her co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson went on to achieve mega-stardom just a year later as Mitchell Pritchett in Modern Family.
Disillusioned, around this time Amanda considered giving up and heading home - with her mum even suggesting that she retrain as a chiropodist. But in 2009, the bright lights came calling again, when she won a part in Woody Allen’s 2010 film, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, after Nicole Kidman dropped out. Playing Anthony Hopkins’ sex worker girlfriend Charmaine - a platinum blonde - she won critical acclaim - then going on to play a stalker in the 2010 film Dinner for Schmucks with Steve Carrell. And in 2011 she played romcom queen Kate Hudson’s best pal in A Little Bit of Heaven. But the Woody Allen film was the role that “changed her life,” according to Lucy, who said: “I’d been out of work for a long time before I got that. That really changed my life, getting that job, because I was ready to pack it all in.”.
Her career was helped by the fact that she was a natural at the American accent - nailing it perfectly. It wasn't long she was given second lead status to movie star Cameron Diaz . In the 2011 comedy Bad Teacher, playing Cameron’s love rival - the painfully perky Amy Squirrel - who she battled for Justin Timberlake’s affection. And Lucy stole the film “ packing a powerful comedy punch” according to one critic, also winning praise from Cameron for her “fearless,awesome” performance as someone “you really wanted to punch in the face”.
