Fans of the BBC sitcom Amandaland have been left delighted by a special festive guest appearance, declaring that comedy icon Jennifer Saunders completely stole the show in the programme's Christmas special.
A Festive Reunion for Comedy Royalty
The 67-year-old actress guest-starred as Aunt Joan, the sister to the mother of main character Amanda, who is played by Lucy Punch. In a treat for fans of classic British comedy, Joan is the sibling of Felicity, a role taken by Saunders' legendary Absolutely Fabulous co-star, Joanna Lumley, 79.
The festive episode's plot saw Amanda, along with her family and friends Anne (Philippa Dunne) and Mal (Samuel Anderson), travel to Aunt Joan's country home for Christmas. However, the trip did not go smoothly, as Amanda found herself struggling to recapture the magical Christmas experiences she remembered from her childhood visits.
Viewers Ecstatic Over On-Screen Chemistry
Audiences quickly took to social media to express their joy at seeing the two comedy legends share the screen once more. On the platform X, formerly Twitter, a flood of positive posts appeared celebrating the special.
One viewer wrote: 'Watching #Amandaland Christmas Special. Jennifer Saunders is stealing the episode.' Others echoed the sentiment, with comments including: 'Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders just have the perfect chemistry,' and 'Seeing Jennifer Saunders and Jo Lumley absolutely smashing it for laughs and drama on #amandaland has made my Christmas.'
The palpable chemistry stems from their iconic roles as Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone in the hit series Absolutely Fabulous, which aired from 1992 to 2012. The pair later reprised their characters for a big-screen adaptation in 2016.
Future Projects and Festive Cheer
Speaking about her guest role earlier this month, Jennifer Saunders revealed she was immediately drawn to the Amandaland script. She told The Times: 'I read the script and I was like, this is it. This is great. It's just really well written. Proper character jokes and funny performances, plenty of falling over. I think it's just terrific. I love it.'
On the potential for more Absolutely Fabulous, however, Saunders was more cautious, noting: 'We're quite old. I'm 67, she's 79. It takes a lot of energy to do something like that.'
Lead star Lucy Punch expressed her excitement for the show's future, stating: '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.'
The special festive episode of Amandaland is available to watch now on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
