First look at Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, reunited in Amandaland
'It was pretty special having Jennifer in the show'
Here’s the first image of Ab Fab stars Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley as they reunited for the Amandaland Christmas special.
Saunders makes a guest appearance in the show as Joan, the sister of Lumley’s Felicity, the snobbish overbearing mother of the title character.
‘We are entirely different characters,’ Saunders says. ‘Joan has decided that she will be the life and soul of the party. She lives in an ever so slightly shabby country house and always hosted the family Christmases’ that Amanda remembers and wants to recreate. Joan herself is fairly shabby but terribly kind and probably farts a lot.’
Asked if she has any similarities with her character, Saunders replied: ‘I am fairly shabby and I fart a lot.’
And the 67-year-old star added that reviving her screen partnership with Lumley, 79, was ‘like riding a bicycle’.
Lucy Punch, who plays the title character, said: Every single scene with Jennifer Saunders was magnificent, a hilarious delight. And Jennifer with Joanna was even better.’
And Lumley agreed: ‘It was pretty special having Jennifer in the show.
‘We were playing characters as far from Edina and Patsy as can be imagined. Everyone adored having her there, especially me, and it all felt empty when the Christmas episode was over and she had gone.’
In their Ab Fab days
But there was one co-star she enjoyed working with even more: Cally, the dog owned by Joan.
‘Cally stole all our hearts away,’ Lumley said. ‘She had been thrown out of a car in a plastic bag when she was four weeks old, she has become the most enchanting and wise little creature, often leaning against our legs and staring up into our eyes.
'The whole crew and cast fell for her, doing the scene in the barn with Jennifer playing my estranged sister with Cally’s head on my lap was gorgeous beyond words.’
The Amandaland Christmas Special airs at 9.15pm on Christmas Day on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Published: 9 Dec 2025
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Products
Book (2013)
Bonkers: My Life in Laughs by Jennifer Saunders
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Jam and Jerusalem Series 2
DVD (2008)
French And Saunders Series 1-6
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Jam and Jerusalem
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The Best of Saturday Live Series 1
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Let Them Eat Cake
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Girls On Top: The Complete Series
DVD (2006)
French And Saunders: Back With A Vengeance
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