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Amandaland's Lucy Punch on 25 years of hard slog to become leading lady
Lucy's on screen mum Joanna Lumley who previously played her mum in 2004 Ella Enchanted is now fairy godmother after signing up to make the actress the star of her own BBC show
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When Amanda Holden posed with Amandaland star Lucy Punch at a screening of the new BBC show, it was a case of āmove over Holden, thereās a more famous Amanda on telly now!ā
Rave reviews have greeted the show, which launched on Wednesday night, and which critics have described as āboth hilarious and heartfelt,ā saying Lucy āhas never been betterā as the central character Amanda Hughes.
The Motherland spin-off series has already seen Lucy, 47, universally hailed as the main attraction, for her performance as overbearing single mum Amanda Hughes.
In Motherland, which was set in west Londonās leafy Chiswick, Amanda was part of an ensemble of middle class mums.Set in leafy Chiswick, the hit series - which also starred Anna Maxwell Martin as Julia, Diane Morgan as Liz, Philippa Dunne as Anne and Tanya Moodie as Meg - ended in 2022.
Amanda Holden, Lucy Punch and Dame Joanna Lumley attend a BBC screening for Amandaland (Image:
PA)Now, Amandaland follows a new chapter in Amandaās life, as she settles her two children into secondary school in South Harlesden (or SoHa) after being forced to downsize and downgrade her life following her divorce - swapping Waitrose for Tesco Metro.
Co-writer Holly Walsh says of Amandaās plight: āTo see somebody who thinks theyāve made it in life fall is a fun story to write.āSouth Harlesden is only about five miles away from Chiswick, but for Amanda thatās huge, as sheās so postcode-obsessed.ā
Irish actress Phillipa also returns in Amandaland, as Amandaās long suffering best friend Anne, and acting royalty Joanna Lumley, who had previously made guest appearances in Motherland, is now a main cast member as her narcissistic mother, Felicity.āIām always cast as savage old grannies and mothers and wizened, cruel aunts,ā says the Ab Fab legend.But, despite Joanna Lumleyās stardust, this is very much Lucyās moment to take the spotlight.
And itās been a long time coming .
Lucy and director Woody Allen attend the screening of "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" (Image:
Getty Images)Itās taken the stunning blonde with razor-sharp comic timing 25 years of near misses and ugly stepsister roles, before sheās finally become the star.The privately educated actress was born in Hammersmith, west London, the daughter of Johanna and Michael Punch, a market research executive.She attended the prestigious Godolphin and Latymer School, where notable alumni include TV presenter Davina McCall and TV chef Nigella Lawson.But Lucy dropped out of her history degree at University College London to follow her acting dreams and, after training at the National Youth Theatre, she achieved admirably swift success.She won a coveted role alongside her screen mumās Absolutely Fabulous co-star, Jennifer Saunders and Vicar of Dibley star Dawn French in the 1999 BBC sitcom Let Them Eat Cake.Set before the French Revolution, she played Eveline De Plonge. Sadly, though, despite a stellar cast, the show was not a ratings winner and was axed after one series.Jobbing roles followed, including Midsomer Murders and Doc Martin, before she decided to try and conquer the US - moving stateside in 2005.
Dinos Chapman and Lucy Punch pregnant with their first son in 2015 n Los Angeles (Image:
Getty Images North America)Lucy said: āI moved to the States because I kept getting cast as posh idiots. I was like āThis is boring. I know I can do more than this.āāAnd she was right - landing a role in sitcom The Class in 2004, co-creator of which was David Crane of Friends fame.She then got what she hoped would be a big break - winning a main role in a sitcom co-created by Friends creator David Crane.Lucy was a scene stealer in the show about a group of former classmates, which was widely touted to become the next Friends.Yet, despite hefty promotion, which included emblazoning the faces of Lucy and her co-stars across LA buses and billboards, the show launched to lukewarm reviews and was widely regarded as a failure.Still, her co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson went on to achieve mega-stardom just a year later as Mitchell Pritchett in Modern Family.Disillusioned, around this time Amanda considered giving up and heading home - with her mum even suggesting that she retrain as a chiropodist.
But in 2009, the bright lights came calling again, when she won a part in Woody Allenās 2010 film, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, after Nicole Kidman dropped out.Playing Anthony Hopkinsā sex worker girlfriend Charmaine - a platinum blonde - she won critical acclaim - then going on to play a stalker in the 2010 film Dinner for Schmucks with Steve Carrell. And in 2011 she played romcom queen Kate Hudsonās best pal in A Little Bit of Heaven.But the Woody Allen film was the role that āchanged her life,ā according to Lucy, who said: āIād been out of work for a long time before I got that.āThat really changed my life, getting that job, because I was ready to pack it all in.āLucy also second female lead to Cameron Diaz in the 2011 comedy Bad Teacher, playing . Cameronās love rival - the painfully perky Amy Squirrel - who she battled for Justin Timberlakeās affection.
ANd Lucy stole the film ā packing a powerful comedy punchā according to one critic, also winning praise from Cameron for her āfearless,awesomeā performance as someone āyou really wanted to punch in the faceā.But self-deprecating Lucy said at the time: āEvery movie Iāve done, when they cast me they knew Iād probably do it for a toffee apple and a Frappuccino. Everyone assumes you must be making a fortune, but Iām still driving around in my bashed-up Honda Civic.āAfter meeting artist husband Dinos Chapman in Hollywood, Lucy settled there permanently. The couple, who have two sons, were among the lucky people whose homes were not destroyed in the recent LA wildfires.
Aside from a few dramatic roles, including playing a nurse opposite Jennifer Anistonās prescription drug addict character Claire in the 2014 movie Cake, Lucy was best known, by her own admission, for playing unhinged female characters when she was cast in Motherland as passive-aggressive snob Amanda.In 2014, she also played evil stepsister Lucinda in Into the Woods, alongside Meryl Streep, saying: āI was always playing witches and crazy women.
Lucy with her fellow middle class mums for the christmas special of Motherland in 2020 (Image:
BBC/Merman/Scott Kershaw)āWhen I was 11, I had an Ugly Sister birthday party. All my idea. Most girls want to be a fairy or a princess, but there I am with beauty spots and fur and fluorescent pink kiss-curls. When I told my mother about Into the Woods, she was like, āOh darling, not againā.āNow, back as Amanda Hughes in Amandaland, her character is showing much more of her āvulnerabilityā than she did in Motherland, according to Lucy.She adds: āSheās probably had a quiet breakdown or meltdown along the way. Sheās disintegrated somewhat but has galvanised herself, sheās doing her best.āAnd this time mum Felicity is there every step of the way.Joanna Lumley first worked with Lucy in 2004 in Ella Enchanted, starring Anne Hathaway. Lucy played one of Ellaās cruel stepsisters while Joanna played abusive stepmum Dame Olga.
Of her on screen mum, Lucy says: āI love Joanna so much. Occasionally Iām worried what my mumās thinking. But truthfully, Joanna would be my second choice of mother."
Reunited as a knockout comedy duo in Amandaland, Joanna describes her own character as āamused and amusing, with a little bit of cattiness towards her daughter,ā she is delighted to be acting with Lucy again and says: āAmandaland was magic to be part of.ā
Amandaland can be seen at 9pm on Wednesdays on BBC1 and the whole series is available on BBC iPlayer.
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