BBC's "best sitcom" Amandaland confirms return for Christmas special - with one major change

After last year's festive episode was the UK's most-viewed comedy episode of the year, the BBC has announced that Amandaland is coming back for another Christmas special this year — and this time it's going to be an hour long!

The new instalment will see Amanda have a chance encounter with an old school friend, and decides to abandon plans of a quiet Christmas Eve with her family in order to throw a party in an attempt to impress.

Unfortunately, Amanda's plans to integrate herself into a new circle of high-fliers hit a few snags: high-end parties are pretty hard to organise in just 24 hours, all the impressive people already have plans, and opening up the invitation list could attract all sorts of undesirables.

Related: Best streaming services UK 2026 – including Disney+, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV

"There's mistletoe, cheese straws and a middle-aged wannabe sexy Santa," Lucy Punch said. "We are all delighted to be back again for an Amandaland Xmas Spesh!"

Writer/director Holly Walsh and fellow writer Laurence Rickard added: "We are utterly thrilled that the BBC have given us the ultimate Christmas present of another special — and an hour long one at that!

"Cameras are now rolling and we are so sure that you'll love this gift we've got for you, we're not even enclosing the receipt."

As well as Punch, the 2026 Christmas special will feature Joanna Lumley, Philippa Dunne, Samuel Anderson, Rochenda Samuel, Ekow Quartey, Harriet Webb, Cavan Clerkin, Rosie Cavaliero, Alexander Shaw, Miley Locke, Anya McKenna-Bruce and Archie Smith.

Related: Amandaland boss shares update on season 3 after "unexpected" win at the BAFTAs

Meanwhile, Breeders actor Daisy Haggard is playing Millie, Amanda's old friend from school.

So far, Amandaland has been a big hit with audiences and critics, with the two seasons sitting at 85% positive and 86% positive on Rotten Tomatoes respectively. The Standard called it "a warm, impeccably turned-out joy" while The Telegraph dubbed it "the BBC's best sitcom by a country mile".

Amandaland will return to the BBC at Christmas for a new special, while season 3 will air next year.

Visit our Streaming Guide now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.

The new edition of Legends, a 100-page celebration of Dolly Parton's life, is here. Buy Dolly in newsagents or online.

Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.