The BBC’s hit comedy series, Amandaland, returns with its first festive special on Christmas Day, marking a long-awaited on-screen reunion for Absolutely Fabulous stars Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders.

The Motherland spin-off, which stars Lucy Punch as the titular posh, try-hard mum, has welcomed Jennifer to cast for the Yuletide instalment in the role of Aunt Joan, the wildly enthusiastic, upper-class sister of Joanna’s Felicity.

two women eating mince pies sitting on sofa in front of christmas tree© BBC/Merman/Natalie Seery
Jennifer Saunders plays Felicity’s sister Aunt Joan

In the new episode, Amanda, her mum Felicity and her two children, Manus and Georgie, are spending Christmas at her aunt’s Cotswold manor house. While the titular single mum has visions of recreating the magical Christmases she spent there growing up, her plans are thwarted when Mal and Anne tag along.

At the press launch, held at London’s BFI Southbank in December, Joanna and Jennifer opened up about their reunion, with the Wednesday actress revealing that she encouraged her AbFab co-star to take the role.

When asked how it felt to reunite on screen after almost a decade, Joanna said: “Because we know each other anyway, we never think of it being on screen. The difference here, of course, is that we’re playing sisters,” explained the 79-year-old. “But I’ve got to say, when I heard the notion that they were hoping for Jennifer, I actually emailed her and said, ‘If the script comes your way, do it or I’ll have to kill you’. Because I knew she’d take the pants off it.”

Jennifer, 67, said of guest-starring on the show: “It was an absolute gift. It was really good fun. It’s really good fun just hanging out.”

The episode also marks a reunion for Jennifer and leading star Lucy, who appeared in four episodes of the 1999 BBC sitcom Let Them Eat Cake, in which Jennifer starred alongside Dawn French.

On welcoming Jennifer to the cast, Lucy said: “It’s just as exciting [for me] as it was for everyone else. Jennifer and I had worked together a very, very long time ago, and I dropped out of university to be in Let Them Eat Cake and I didn’t talk, barely. I was so in awe.”

family sitting at table for christmas dinner© BBC/Merman
The Christmas special airs on 25 December on BBC One and iPlayer at 9.15pm

She added: “I was very shy and intimidated and excited and this time I was able to talk to [Jennifer] more. It was wonderful.”

What is Amandaland about?

The hit series, which averaged 5.7 million viewers to date and is the BBC’s second biggest new comedy launch in recent years, follows posh mum Amanda, as she’s forced to downsize and move to London’s South Harlesden (or SoHa) following her divorce.

Blonde woman taking on the phone© BBC/Merman/Natalie Seery
The series follows posh mum-of-two Amanda

With her children, Manus and Georgie, both at secondary school, Amanda attempts to get her head around raising teens, dealing with modern motherhood nightmares such as underage drinking, fake Instagram accounts and eco anxiety.

What to expect from the Christmas special

Amanda and her family head to Aunt Joan’s country home for Christmas, but when plans change and Mal and Anne tag along, the titular mum-of-two struggles to recreate the magical Christmases she spent there growing up.

man and woman sitting on sofa© BBC/Merman/Natalie Seery
Lucy Punch stars as Amanda, alongside Samuel Anderson as Mal

The synopsis continues: “Anne’s in despair at being separated from her family, and Felicity is increasingly irritated by her sister’s constant high spirits. Meanwhile Mal sees a hidden photo that seems to reveal a deep family secret.”

The Amandaland Christmas Special airs on iPlayer and BBC One from 9.15pm on 25 December.