Lucy Punch shares upsetting fan encounter as Amandaland returns for series two

Amandaland star Lucy Punch has revealed she gets mistaken by fans for the “obnoxious” titular character in real life.

The actor returned to screens with the beloved BBC comedy for series two on Wednesday alongside Joanna Lumley , Samuel Anderson and Philippa Dunne.

Punch won over viewers in series one playing a “tragic” aspirational Londoner Amanda Hughes , while Lumley portrays her icy mother Felicity.

The 48-year-old - who lives in the US with her partner, artist Dinos Chapman, and their two children - admitted she gets called “Amanda” a lot when she’s in the UK.

Punch described a particular encounter with a fan at a hotel in Manchester that stuck with her.

After she accidentally jumped the queue for a key card, she recalled a girl saying, “Such an Amanda move,” and added: “I would hate for anyone to think I was like that.”
The actor told The Guardian that despite fans mistaking her for the “meanies” she plays onscreen, she doesn’t fear being typecast.

“Well, I haven’t worried about it because it’s kept me working,” she said.

“I’ve played so many ugly stepsister types and Amandas… and I enjoy it.

From teenagers up, people say they love it – it’s a joy.”
Punch added that she values the relationship between Amanda and her onscreen mother as it helps to “generate sympathy” for her character.

“I think seeing the dynamic with her mother, and why she is how she is, generates sympathy for an unlikable character,” she explained.

“But I always said, when talking to the writers, that I didn’t want to pull back on any of her obnoxious behaviour.”
Amandaland is a spin-off from the hit show Motherland, that starred and Diane Morgan, which was cancelled after its Christmas special in 2022.

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Amandaland picks up a little while after this, once Amanda has settled herself in “SoHa” (South Harlesden) and relocated her kids from private to state school.

It returned with a special Comic Relief sketch featuring an unexpected gathering of famous Amandas.

The sketch saw Amanda Hughes thrown into chaos when she found herself surrounded by several well-known namesakes during a visit to BBC Radio 2.

Presenter Amanda Holden, travel presenter Amanda Lamb, Coronation Street star Amanda Barrie, presenter Amanda Byram and The Traitors contestant Amanda Collier all took part in the sketch.