AMANDALAND: HIT COMEDY RETURNS FOR CHRISTMAS SPECIAL LATER THIS YEAR ON BBC ONE

The hit BBC comedy Amandaland, starring Lucy Punch, is returning earlier than expected - with Joanna Lumley confirming the show will return for a Christmas special this year on BBC One.

Speaking to Chris Evans on Virgin Radio, Lumley said: "I'm just about to start another series of Amandaland which was the spin-off from Motherland, which was a gorgeous, wild success. Clever, clever Lucy Punch. We're just about to start seven more episodes and one is a Christmas special for this year."

Until now, the BBC have only confirmed that the hit comedy would return for a second series next year. The first became the BBC’s second biggest comedy launch in recent years (excluding specials), behind Ludwig (9.5M) and on par with The Outlaws (6.4M)..

Produced by Merman, Amandaland follows Lucy Punch as Amanda, who in series one had to downsize and up sticks to South Harlesden, or as the estate agent called it SoHa (definitely not the area around Wormwood Scrubs prison) post her divorce.

With both Manus and Georgie at secondary school, Amanda had to try and get her head around raising teenagers, dealing with modern motherhood horrors like teenage drinking, fake Instagram accounts and eco anxiety. Not even a woman as certain of her parenting as Amanda could deal with those nightmares alone.

Amanda’s mother Felicity (Joanna Lumley) was constantly around, and completely in denial that she was, in fact, lonely. Theirs is a slightly unhealthy co-dependent relationship based on backhanded compliments and veiled snipes about her new home.

After a brief spell of freedom, Anne (Philippa Dunne) was sucked back into being Amanda’s minion to help her navigate the social scene with the other parents at the children’s new school. Thank God for Anne.

The first series also introduced a host of new characters, including Amanda’s long-suffering downstairs neighbour Mal (Samuel Anderson) and JJ (Ekow Quartey), the stepfather to Mal’s son Ned, as well as power couple Della and Fi (Siobhán McSweeney and Rochenda Sandall) and smooth-talking South African property developer Johannes (Peter Serafinowicz).

Co-writer and creator Holly Walsh says: “We've been bowled over by the response to Amandaland and can't wait to get co-labbing on the next series.”

Sharon Horgan, Co-Founder of Merman says: “With any new show you put out there, your main hope is to make something you love and are proud of. The extra bonus is that it's a critical hit. But to have a loyal audience of this size is just beyond your hopes and expectations. The incredible cast and writers, director and production team worked so hard on this show and it's so wonderful to see that hard work pay off. Special thanks to Lucy for being the most extraordinary front woman and to the BBC for having such faith in the idea of Amandaland from the off.”

Amandaland is available now on BBC iPlayer.