Amandaland Christmas special confirmed as series 2 filming begins

Alongside the returning cast, the Christmas special welcomes the absolutely fabulous Jennifer Saunders who will play Aunt Joan, Felicity’s (Joanna Lumley) sister.

Published: 06:00 pm, 21 October 2025
A woman in a white jacket stands outside a wooden door, decorated with festive greenery and red ribbon, holding a clapperboard for the start of filming on Amandaland

The second series of the hit BBC comedy Amandaland, starring Lucy Punch, Joanna Lumley and Philippa Dunne, is coming to iPlayer and BBC One in 2026.

Alongside the returning cast, the Christmas special welcomes the absolutely fabulous Jennifer Saunders who will play Aunt Joan, Felicity’s (Joanna Lumley) sister. Aunt Joan is a ball of country-living, enthusiastic upper-class bluster – very, very different from Felicity. This very special episode will be the first scripted on-screen reunion for Jennifer and Joanna since Absolutely Fabulous.

Amandaland series one averaged 5.7 million viewers to date, with episode 1 attracting 7.4 million, making it the BBC’s second biggest new comedy launch in recent years, behind Ludwig Ep 1 (11.4M to date) according to the latest data.

Produced by Merman, the series has also been a hit with younger audiences, drawing 1 million 16-34s to date, the biggest new BBC comedy audience in this demographic since The Cleaner in 2021.

Lucy Punch, who plays Amanda says: "I’m beyond excited to get started on Amandaland series two with our brilliantly talented lovely cast. The Christmas special is going to be an absolute cracker – it’s like totes fire, with all the festive feels, for reals. Slay bells!"

Jennifer Saunders, who plays Joan says: "I am delighted to be joining the fabulous Amandaland gang for a Christmas special. Playing Joanna’s on-screen sister is guaranteed to be a laugh, who doesn’t love a family reunion SoHa style!"

Co-writer and creator Holly Walsh and co-writer Laurence Rickard say: "It’s an absolute joy to be back in SoHa (South Harlesden) again. After six months of researching Brent Council’s fly tipping rules, attempting Anne’s Irish accent and writing the odd bit of script, we’re so excited to get filming with our amazing cast. We're thrilled to bits to have a Christmas special and Jennifer Saunders is the perfect addition to the gang."

Broadcast details will be confirmed in due course.

Amandaland was created by Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters, Catastrophe), Holly Walsh (Motherland, The Other One, Dead Boss), Helen Serafinowicz (Motherland, Nova Jones), and Barunka O'Shaughnessy (Breeders, Trying, Motherland). This series is written by Holly Walsh and Laurence Rickard (Ghosts, Yonderland). It is produced by Arnold Widdowson and the BBC Commissioning Editor is Tanya Qureshi. Lionsgate distributes the series worldwide.

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