Motherland
- TV sitcom
- BBC Two / BBC One
- 2016 - 2022
- 20 episodes (3 series)
Comedy about middle-class parenthood and juggling kids, school, and other parents. Stars Anna Maxwell Martin, Diane Morgan, Paul Ready, Lucy Punch, Philippa Dunne and more.
- Series 1, Episode 2 repeated at 10pm on BBC2
Streaming rank this week: 185
Episode menu
Christmas Special
Further details
If it's Christmas, it's time for Amanda's Annual Seasonal Soiree (dress code; tinsel and tiaras!). Nothing says festive like Evil Santa, a thirty-foot Christmas tree and very strict rules about where you can and can't drink mulled wine. Only Meg has an official party invite but Julia, Kevin and Liz tag along as her plus threes.
Apart from Anne, the gang find the other guests a little frosty, but for Julia it's still a welcome distraction from playing festive butler to a houseful of in-laws. Liz is trying to ignore Christmas altogether whilst Kevin is single-handedly stuffing, wrapping, roasting, parboiling, laying up, washing up and decorating everything he can lay his hands on.
Broadcast details
- Date
- Wednesday 23rd December 2020
- Time
- 9pm
- Channel
- BBC Two
- Length
- 30 minutes
Cast & crew
| Anna Maxwell Martin | Julia |
| Diane Morgan | Liz |
| Paul Ready | Kevin |
| Lucy Punch | Amanda |
| Philippa Dunne | Anne |
| Tanya Moodie | Meg |
| Ellie Haddington | Marion |
| Oliver Chris | Paul |
| David Calder | Geoff |
| Penny Ryder | Elizabeth |
| Tom Meeten | Sam |
| Margaret Cabourn-Smith | Mrs Banbury Hughes |
| Sharon Horgan | Writer |
| Holly Walsh | Writer |
| Barunka O'Shaughnessy | Writer |
| Helen Serafinowicz | Writer |
| Simon Hynd | Director |
| Caroline Norris | Producer |
| Sharon Horgan | Executive Producer |
| Clelia Mountford | Executive Producer |
| Holly Walsh | Executive Producer |
| Ben Caudell | Executive Producer |
| Emma Brown | Line Producer |
| Helen Serafinowicz | Associate Producer |
| Nigel Williams | Editor |
| Jeff Sherriff (as Jeffrey Sherriff) | Production Designer |
| Sarah Crowe | Casting Director |
| Ben Marks | Casting Director |
| Greg Duffield | Director of Photography |
| Lucia Santa-Maria | Costume Designer |
| Vanessa White | Make-up Designer |
| Oli Julian | Composer |
| Brett Thomas | 1st Assistant Director |
Videos
Motherland Christmas trailer
Christmas comes but once a year, and thank God for that, because it's time for Amanda's annual festive soiree.
Featuring: Anna Maxwell Martin (Julia), Diane Morgan (Liz), Paul Ready (Kevin) & Lucy Punch (Amanda).
Preparation stress
Christmas comes but once a year, and thank God it's not more often...
Featuring: Oliver Chris (Paul), David Calder (Geoff) & Penny Ryder (Elizabeth).
Press
The Motherland guide to a no-frills Christmas
The matriarchs of Motherland are back for a one-off special. Here, straight-talking Liz offers advice for stress-free festivities.
The Guardian, 23rd December 2020Motherland Christmas special review
The slapstick carnage in this one-off episode - there's a broken nose, a toppled tree and an explosion of flour - is not as funny as the more low-key moments.
Alexandra Pollard, The Independent, 23rd December 2020Motherland Christmas Special, BBC2, review
A hilarious dose of reality at a time of forced schmaltz.
Emily Baker, i Newspaper, 23rd December 2020