The much-awaited spin-off of Motherland, Amandaland, made its debut on One last night (Wednesday, February 5), whisking viewers away from the posh streets of West London to the contrasting setting of South Harlesden. Lucy Punch reprises her role as the quintessential yummy mummy Amanda, now residing in an upper-floor flat and navigating life with her children in secondary school.

The series sees Amanda attempting to carve out a new existence while trying to win over the local parents and residents, with mixed results.

Amandaland brings back familiar faces and introduces new ones, including Samuel Anderson as Mal, Amanda's disgruntled neighbour living just below her. In a chat with the BBC, Punch gave insights into her character's dynamic with Mal: "The main relationship is with Mal, played by Samuel Anderson, who lives beneath her."

She elaborated, "They're essentially living on top of each other, and even if you can't stand someone or they're irritating, proximity creates a bond."

Punch also shared her excitement about Anderson joining the cast: "I was in the room when Sam auditioned, and he was this force of nature with incredible energy. He was the first person confirmed for the show, and I was really excited. He's a brilliant actor and very funny in a dry way.", reports .

At 42, Anderson is already well-known to TV audiences, having portrayed Ross Kirk in and appeared in Doctors, Hex, and The Afternoon Play.

He also shared the screen with James Corden and Mathew Horne in Gavin & Stacey, reprising his role as Fingers in the series finale that aired last year. It was a delightful reunion for Anderson, who had appeared in several episodes over the years.

Born in Handsworth, Birmingham, he honed his craft at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London before portraying Crowther at the National Theatre in History Boys in 2004, where he acted alongside Corden. He revisited the role of Crowther in the 2006 film adaptation of The History Boys, with most of the stage cast also featuring.

One of his most notable roles came in 2014 when he entered the TARDIS in , starring opposite Peter Capaldi's Time Lord and Jenna Coleman's companion Clara Oswald. His other major projects include TV series Another Life, Trollied, Witless, Loaded and DCI Banks.

His film credits include Genesis, Gunpowder Milkshake, Sweetheart, Embers and . According to IMDb, his next appearance will be in Two Neighbours, which is currently in post-production.

Amandaland airs on BBC One on Wednesdays and is streaming on BBC iPlayer now