Motherland’s highly-anticipated spin-off series hit screens last night (Wednesday, February 5) on One with Lucy Punch’s titular yummy mummy finding herself worlds away from the well-heeled environs of Chiswick.
Amandaland follows the character several years on from the end of Motherland with Amanda upping sticks to South Harlesden and living in an upper-floor flat.
With her kids now at secondary school, Amanda will be building a new life and trying to ingratiate herself with the local parents and residents with various degrees of success.
Amandaland features some old faces and new with Samuel Anderson joining the cast as Amanda’s disgruntled lower-level neighbour Mal.
In an interview with the , Punch teased the character of Mal: “The main relationship is with Mal, played by Samuel Anderson, who lives beneath her.
Mal and Amanda clash as neighbours (Image: BBC)
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Samuel Anderson is no stranger to screens (Image: BBC)
“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.
“I was in the room when Sam auditioned, and he was this force of nature with incredible energy. He was the first person confirmed for the show, and I was really excited. He’s a brilliant actor and very funny in a dry way.”
Anderson, 42, is no stranger to screens having made his mark at Ross Kirk in after small roles in Doctors, Hex and The Afternoon Play.
He also appeared opposite James Corden and Mathew Horne in Gavin & Stacey, returning to reprise his role as Fingers in the Christmas series finale which aired last year. The moment was a sweet reunion for Anderson, who previously featured in a handful of episodes over the years.
Mal and Amanda are neighbours in Harlesden (Image: BBC)
Born in Handsworth, Birmingham, he studied at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London before playing as Crowther at the National Theatre in History Boys in 2004, which saw him acting with Corden.
He revisited Crowther again in the 2006 film adaptation of The History Boys with most of the cast from the stage production also appearing.
One of his most high-profile roles came in 2014 when he stepped into the TARDIS in Doctor Who, starring opposite Peter Capaldi’s incarnation of the Time Lord and Jenna Coleman’s companion Clara Oswald.
Some of his other big projects include TV series Another Life, Trollied, Witless, Loaded and DCI Banks.
His film work include Genesis, Gunpowder Milkshake, Sweetheart, Embers and Back to Black.
According to IMDb, he will next be appearing in Two Neighbours, which is currently in post-production.
Amandaland airs on One on Wednesdays and is streaming on iPlayer now