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!”.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
