Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley, Gavin & Stacey, Blackadder: the British TV Christmas special is an institution. These one-off episodes historically work best when slice-of-life comedy meets relatable family drama. Beloved characters coalesce outside of their typical series storylines to plan the perfect holiday, overeat, have far too much drink and usually have a happy-sad bittersweet day that reminds us of our own. Tonight, the latest series to join in with this tradition is BBC One’s Motherland spin-off Amandaland.
The show’s Christmas special was a fairly last-minute addition to the BBC’s slate, filmed in autumn this year, with key actors only learning about it shortly before that. “Christmas specials are obviously epic, so it’s a real honour to do one,” says actor Philippa Dunne, who stars as Anne, the fuddy-duddy mum who plays second fiddle to Lucy Punch’s lead, the hoity-toity Amanda.
When we meet Amanda in the special, she’s off with her extended family, including her mother (Joanna Lumley), to the house of her aunt Joan (played by Jennifer Saunders) for Christmas Day. Unfortunately, Anne’s travel plans are scuppered and she has to tag along to Joan’s celebrations, which play out in typical Amandaland style: a lot of champagne, mild sexual intrigue and mothers grasping for control.
Read our full interview with Dunne, in which she opens up about the trials of motherhood at Christmastime, and working with the Ab Fab duo, below…
Were you surprised when you saw what Anne would be getting up to in this Christmas special?
For Anne to not get to spend Christmas with her family, it would have to take a disaster and it does, it takes a disaster. So poor Anne has to spend it differently, getting roped into Amanda’s Christmas.
This is the first time iconic duo Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders have worked together in many years. As a comedic actor, how did you react when you heard you’d be working with them?
To say I was excited is a huge understatement. From reading the script, I thought, ‘Right, they’re going to get somebody good to play Joan, obviously.’ And then when I heard that Jennifer Saunders was going to do it, I actually screamed. So I was so, so thrilled. I just thought that’s such a genius idea. Being in that same room was amazing. It was just like, is any of this happening? Is this real? Yes, it is real. You know you’re in very safe hands: if you don’t get your stuff right, you know that they’re going to just sweep forward.
Were you a fan of Absolutely Fabulous back in the day?
Yes – where I grew up in Ireland, I didn’t have all the channels, so I couldn’t watch it religiously, but whenever it was on, I was watching. I remember when it started; it was so wacky. Those two characters have always stood out to me as epic. I love how daft and silly they are. The fact that they’re together again for this wasn’t lost on any of us, really.
Do you see any of yourself in Anne?
Anne is basically me when I was 13, starting school: awkwardness personified. Really wanted to fit in, really wanted people to like me, really shy, really awkward, just trying my best. I don’t try that hard any more. I’ve grown up. But there’s definitely part of me that is Anne. That kind of lost younger girl trying to figure stuff out. That’s who I always think of when I think of Anne.
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Everyone seems to know mums like her who are codependent and needy with their kids.
Yeah, we all just show off, we’re all vulnerable, we all need things, but we just show it in different ways. We’re just doing the same thing, but in our own fashion, however it manifests. I think that’s why people might relate to Anne a bit; they spot a bit of an underdog in her, and they’re rooting for her.
What was your favourite element of filming this special?
The house was done up so beautifully; it was so Christmassy, so sentimental, so cosy. It really made you think of your Christmases as a child or a teenager. It was total escapism. We were just in a Christmas bubble. And the episode itself has all that stuff that Christmas involves, which is a lot of fuss, a lot of glitter, but also family tensions. But then a lot of laughter, playing games, and fun.
Anne really enjoys some champagne in this episode, doesn’t she!
A whole new world opened up to her. Joan is the ultimate hostess, so has all the best bits. She gives Anne a nice glug of French champagne and Anne is having the best day ever. Anne loves bubbly, fizzy, sparkly cold drinks – so she’s made.
She has the last-minute opportunity to get home in time for Christmas with her family, but she declines it. What is her thinking there?
I think Anne is having the Christmas that she didn’t know she needed, but it turns out to be one of her favourite days ever. And she might have a little bit of guilt around that going, ‘Oh my God, why am I enjoying being away from my family?’ But it’s a gift. She gets to observe a different family and maybe thinks my family are great in comparison to all this, but she gets the day off. She doesn’t have to cook. She doesn’t have to clean up. She doesn’t have to look after any kids. She’s having a mighty time. Joan is treating her like a queen. So it’s not hard for her to go, ‘Ah, well, I guess I’ll just have to stay here then.’
As a mum yourself, what do you think is special about the whole Motherland–Amandaland franchise?
It gets key moments of child-rearing quite well – it’s not a glamourised version, it’s a nice, sloppy, real-life bells and whistles sensory overload. It’s very imperfect, very messy, very stressful and I think the show really allows you to laugh at the mess. They’re not perfect mothers. They’re trying their best and life is not straightforward and kids are not straightforward. But you’re allowed to laugh at it together. And we can all watch and relate and that makes it easier, doesn’t it?
It makes total sense that the BBC would want to do a Christmas special in particular, then, given how Christmas can be overhyped stress for many mums.
Well, that’s the pressure we put on ourselves every year. Every year we go, this year it’s going to be amazing. But guess what? Every year it’s the same family stuff. It’s the same pressure. It’s the same stress. It’s the same cost. And we don’t seem to learn. We go in every year with this hope going, ‘This year is going to be amazing!’ And end up scrapping with our siblings and falling out. Christmas doesn’t always bring out the best in people. I think the Christmas special does tap into that really nicely.
‘Amandaland’ airs on Christmas Day at 9.15pm on BBC One