Amandaland cast, filming locations and episode guide for new BBC ...

The success of Motherland has spawned a spin-off series with acerbic alpha-mum Amanda at the heart of it.

Viewers are invited to venture into Amandaland this week, where life is not quite a rosy as it once was for the image and status-conscious mother-of-two.

Lucy Punch stars with some familiar faces from Motherland popping up, including Joanna Lumley and Philippa Dunne.

Written by Motherland creators Sharon Horgan, Holly Walsh, Helen Serafinowicz and Barunka O’Shaughnessy, it takes a wry look at life for Amanda in the wake of her divorce and downsizing.

Walsh said: “There was always something unresolved about Amanda’s story in Motherland – she was probably the character that evolved the most over the three series and we felt there was more we could explore.”

Now fans of the original show can take a peek into Amanda’s new reality.

What is Amandaland about?

After her divorce, Amanda has had to downsize and moves to South Harlesden or as the estate agent calls it SoHa.

With both her children Manus and Georgie now at secondary school, Amanda has to try and get her head around raising teenagers, dealing with modern motherhood horrors such as teenage drinking, fake Instagram accounts and eco anxiety.

But not even a woman as certain of her parenting as Amanda can deal with these nightmares alone.

Luckily her mother Felicity (Joanna Lumley) appears constantly at hand with backhanded compliments and veiled snipes about her new home.

And if that wasn’t enough, Amanda has also entered the dating scene.

Who is in the Amandaland cast?

Lucy Punch

Lucy Punch stars as alpha-mum Amanda, who finds herself divorced and down-sizing but never down-on-her-luck.

Speaking about her role, Punch said: “Amanda is now living in an upper-level flat, with someone below her which is a hard pill for her to swallow.

“She’s moved away from Chiswick and all its treats, like Gail’s.

“The kids are now in high school, and Amanda is starting over.

“She’s disintegrated somewhat but has galvanised herself, got a blowout, done her nails, bought a new outfit, and is bringing her full Amanda energy to South Harlesden to whip up a storm.”

The actress, 47, began her career in The New Adventures of Robin Hood in 1998 and has gone on to star in Doc Martin, The Class, Ben and Kate and Motherland.

She has also appeared in the films Being Julia, Hot Fuzz and Into the Woods.

Philippa Dunne

Philippa Dunne returns to her role as Anne, Amanda’s friend and sidekick.

Dunne said: “When we first see Anne, she’s living her best life.

“She’s had a few years of freedom, and things are going really well.

“She’s gone back to work, her kids have grown up, and she’s had the chance to spread her wings, be her own woman, and do her own thing.

“Then Amanda comes back into the picture.”

The Irish actress rose to fame in the RTÉ comedy The Walshes, starring as Carmel Walsh.

She has also appeared in Derry Girls, This is Going to Hurt and The Woman in the Wall.

Joanna Lumley

Dame Joanna Lumley reprises her role as Amana’s mother Felicity in this spin-off series.

The veteran actress said: “She’s amused and amusing, with a little bit of cattiness towards her daughter.

“They do adore each other even though they exasperate one another.”

Dame Joanna, 78, has won Bafta’s for her portrayal of Patsy Stone in the comedy Absolutely Fabulous.

A former Bond girl, she has starred in a number of iconic television shows over the decades including The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, Class Act and Jam & Jerusalem.

And she has appeared in films such as On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Shirley Valentine, Maybe Baby, The Wolf of Wall Street and Paddington 2.

Samuel Anderson

Samuel Anderson takes on the role of Mal, who lives downstairs from Amanda.

Punch said her character’s “main relationship is with Mal”, who lives beneath her.

“They’re essentially living on top of each other, and even if you can’t stand someone or they’re irritating, proximity creates a bond”, she added.

Anderson starred as Crowther in the film The History Boys in 2006.

The 42-year-old has also played Ross Kirk in Emmerdale, Fingers in Gavin & Stacey, DC Vince Grady in DCI Banks, Danny Pink in Doctor Who and William in Another Life.

The cast of Amandaland also includes:

• Siobhán McSweeney as Della (Derry Girls, The Fall)
• Rochenda Sandall as Fi (Line of Duty, The Rig)
• Jack Veal as Darius (Tin Star, Loki)
• Miley Locke as Georgie (There She Goes, The Royals)
• Alexander Shaw as Manus (Odd Squad, The King’s Man)
• Ekow Quartey as JJ (Smothered, Becoming Elizabeth, This Way Up)
• Peter Serafinowicz as Johannes (Shaun of the Dead, Mr Sloane, The Tick)

Where is Amandaland filmed?

Amanda has downsized post-divorce to a flat and finds herself in the west London area of South Harlesden or as her estate agent refers to it “SoHa”.

But in reality much of the filming for this area took place in north London’s Islington and Muswell Hill.

Journalist Harry Wallop noted that film crews had turned up, at one point, in his street.

He posted on social media: “Amandaland. The sequel to Motherland is being filmed on our road.

Which is quite exciting as we’re big fans of the show.

“But the production designers have decided to make our street very run down, with discarded shopping trolley etc!

“Amanda has obviously fallen on hard times.”

As with Motherland, parts of west London including shots along by the Thames make it into the series.

Crews did venture further out to Surrey and Oxfordshire for some location shots and an infamous outdoor car boot sale scene was struck by bad weather which saw the entire set blown away.

Punch told The One Show: “We were doing a car boot sale and the weather turned and the entire set just blew off.”

How many episodes are there?

Amandaland starts on BBC One on Wednesday 5 February at 9pm.

There are six episodes in this series, which will air on successive Wednesdays.

Fans can also catch-up on all the action by streaming it on the BBC iPlayer.