There was a more well-known Amanda on television right now when Amanda Holden and Amandaland star Lucy Punch posed for a photo at a screening of the new BBC show!
The show, which premiered on Wednesday night, received rave reviews, with some calling it “heartfelt and hilarious,” claiming that Lucy “has never been better” as the main 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.
The hit television series, which also stars Diane Morgan as Liz, Philippa Dunne as Anne, and Tanya Moodie as Meg, ended in 2022, having been set in leafy Chiswick.
After being forced to downsize and downgrade her life following her divorce, Amandaland moves from Waitrose to Tesco Metro, opening a new chapter in her life.
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.
The stunning blonde has spent 25 years playing ugly stepsister roles before finally becoming a star. She has razor-sharp comic timing. 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 students include Nigella Lawson and TV chef Davina McCall. However, Lucy abandoned her history major to pursue her acting ambitions at University College London, and she trained at the National Youth Theatre with admirable ease.
In the 1999 BBC sitcom Let Them Eat Cake, Jennifer Saunders and Vicar of Dibley star Dawn French won coveted roles alongside their screen mother Absolutely Fabulous co-star, Jennifer Saunders. 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.
Before she attempted to conquer the US, moving stateside in 2005, she took on the robbery roles Midsomer Murders and Doc Martin.
Lucy remarked, “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 the role of David Crane of Friends, the co-creator of The Class, in 2004.
She then won a major role in a sitcom that David Crane and Friends creator David, earning what she hoped would be a big break.
Lucy stole the show’s most memorable scene when it involved a group of ex-collegers who were widely regarded as the next Friends.
Despite extensive promotion, including emblazoning Lucy and her co-stars on LA buses and billboards, the show only received positive reviews and was widely regarded as a failure. However, her co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who played Mitchell Pritchett in Modern Family, did the same.
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.
She won critical acclaim for playing the platinum blonde girlfriend of Anthony Hopkins’ sex worker Charmaine in the 2010 film Dinner for Schmucks with Steve Carrell before moving on to play a stalker. And in 2011 she played romcom queen Kate Hudson’s best pal in A Little Bit of Heaven. nBut 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 made getting that job really transform my life because I was prepared to pack everything in.
Lucy also second female lead to 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”.
But self-deprecating Lucy said at the time:” Every movie I’ve done, when they cast me they knew I’d probably do it for a toffee apple and a Frappuccino. Everyone assumes you must be making a fortune, but I’m still driving around in my bashed-up Honda Civic. “After meeting artist husband Dinos Chapman in Hollywood, Lucy settled there permanently. The couple, who have two sons, were among the lucky people whose homes were not destroyed in the recent LA wildfires.
In addition to playing a nurse opposite Claire, Jennifer Aniston’s prescription drug addict in the 2014 film Cake, Lucy was best known for playing unhinged female characters in Motherland as passive-aggressive snob Amanda, according to her own admission. In 2014, she also played evil stepsister Lucinda in Into the Woods, alongside Meryl Streep, saying:” I was always playing witches and crazy women.
“When I was 11, I had an Ugly Sister birthday party. All my idea. The majority of girls want to be princesses or fairy tales, but I’m all about the beauty, fur, and fluorescent pink kisscurls. When I told my mother about Into the Woods, she was like”, Oh darling, not again”. ‘
Now, back as Amanda Hughes in Amandaland, her character is showing much more of her” vulnerability “than she did in Motherland, according to Lucy. She adds:” She’s probably had a quiet breakdown or meltdown along the way. She’s disintegrated somewhat but has galvanised herself, she’s doing her best. “Mother Felicity is there every step of the way this time.”
Joanna Lumley first worked with Lucy in 2004 in Ella Enchanted, starring Anne Hathaway. Joanna played abusive stepmum Dame Olga while Lucy played one of Ella’s cruel stepsisters. Of her on screen mum, Lucy says:” I love Joanna so much. Occasionally I’m worried what my mum’s thinking. But truthfully, Joanna would be my second choice of mother. “
In Amandaland, Joanna, who has been reunited as a top comedy duo, describes her own character as “amused and amusing, with a little bit of cattiness toward her daughter,” as well as “exciting to be acting with Lucy again” and says: “Amazonland was magic to be part of.
The entire series is available on BBC iPlayer and can be seen on BBC1 at 9pm on Wednesdays.
Source: Mirror
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