In the slate of BBC Christmas content, there’s a lot of joyous content to take in. Festive specials are aplenty this year with Death in Paradise, Call the Midwife and The Cleaner all providing one-off Christmas-themed episodes for us all.
Another Christmas TV slot that many are looking forward to is undoubtedly Motherland. The series follows a group of west London parents having to juggle raising their kids with the trials and tribulations of school-gate politics.
Now, the hit BBC comedy returns for Last Christmas, a half-hour-long episode dedicated to the pandemonium that is Christmas.
It’s set to be as hilarious as ever, full of returning faces, and airs on the big weekend itself – what more could we want? Read on for everything you need to know about the upcoming episode.
Motherland Christmas 2022 special release date
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The comedy series returns just in time to get our Christmas weekend started in the right way.
The festive episode airs on Friday 23rd December at 9:30pm on BBC One (rather than its usual BBC Two slot) and will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Motherland Christmas 2022 special cast
As well as Line of Duty’s Anna Maxwell Martin leading the cast as Julia, we can expect to see her group of best friends Liz (Diane Morgan), Kevin (Paul Ready) and Meg (Tanya Moodie).
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Fans will be pleased to know that the entire main cast has been confirmed for the Christmas special, which includes:
- Lucy Punch as Amanda
- Anthony Head as Bill
- Paul Ready as Kevin
- Philippa Dunne as Anne
- Oliver Chris as Paul
- Ellie Haddington as Marion
- Terry Mynott as Johnny
- Anthony Head as Bill
The Christmas special will see a return of Dame Joanna Lumley as Felicity, Amanda’s mother, and similarly the role of Anne’s mother is also being played by returning guest star Maggie McCarthy (Berkeley Square).
Louise Delamere (No Angels) will be making her Motherland debut as Johnny’s new wife Tamara, while Coronation Street’s Elle Haddington stars as Marion and Oliver Chris (Bluestone 42) stars as her husband Paul.
Read more: Motherland’s Tanya Moodie shares her wishes for season 4 storylines
Motherland Christmas 2022 special plot
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The one-off special is set to be as chaotic as the Christmas period usually is. As the synopsis reads: “School’s out for the festive season, so the mums (and Kevin) are busy prepping for the ultimate in blended Christmas celebrations.
“It’s a full house at Julia’s with an invasion of grandparents demanding endless cups of tea as they play with a VR headset Paul bought ‘for the kids’. Julia has invited Kevin along too after learning his alternative was turkey crisps from the hotel vending machine with the other divorced dads.
“Kevin excitedly offers to whip up a full-on Persian feast. Liz also turns up when her ex falls asleep on a train following a massive Christmas Eve bender, letting her down on his first ever offer to host. Meanwhile, Amanda is spending Christmas Day with Johnny, the kids and Johnny’s new wife Tamara. Which is fine. Really fine. It’s fine.”
Motherland Christmas 2022 special trailer
The trailer is a brief insight into the drama to come in this episode, with Julia, Liz and Kevin all lining up outside the school gates. There, Kevin subtly boasts about how Christmas is one of his “top skills along with changing duvets and cooking rice”.
Julia then asks what she should get for her own mother, after being told that she didn’t want anything for Christmas which then led to “sad face all day”.
Kevin suggests an experience, like Zorbing, which warrants a hilarious response from Liz: “She’s an old lady, Kevin, not a gerbil.”
You can watch the full trailer above.
Motherland’s Christmas 2022 special airs on BBC One on Friday 23rd December at 9.30pm.
Looking for something else to watch? Visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
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