If you’re anything like us, you’ll have not only binged the latest series of BBC school gate sitcom Motherland already, but also rewatched the first two seasons approximately 10 times by now.
And while we can’t imagine a time before Julia, Amanda and co were in our lives, the actors who portray the middle-class parents of a west London primary have long been on the acting circuit.
So if you can’t get enough of Lucy Punch (Amanda), Diane Morgan (Liz), Tanya Moodie (Meg), Anna Maxwell Martin (Julia) and Paul Ready (Kevin), here are 10 other places you can find them being equally brilliant…
A Series Of Unfortunate Events – Lucy Punch
Streaming on: Netflix
A Series Of Unfortunate Events is a US dark-comedy drama based the Lemony Snicket children’s novel series of the same name.
It follows the misadventures of the three Baudelaire children who are shuffled between various foster homes after a mysterious fire destroys their home and kills their parents.
Lucy appeared in the second and third seasons as Esmé Squalor, a love interest for Neil Patrick Harris’ devious character, Count Olaf. Esmé is a distant relative of the central children, who is determined to claim the family fortune for himself.
Mandy – Diane Morgan
Streaming on: BBC iPlayer
Mandy is Diane’s very own sitcom, which she writes, directs and stars as the title character.
The bitesize series (each episode is just 15 minutes long) is suitably silly, beginning when Mandy becomes obsessed with a sofa she has seen in a shop window and goes to desperate lengths to get it.
Motherland guest star and regular EastEnder Natalie Cassidy makes an appearance in the final episode, while other cameos include Maxine Peake, Shaun Ryder and Sean Lock.
A Discovery Of Witches – Tanya Moodie
Streaming on: NOW
This Sky Original fantasy drama is based on the All Souls book series by Deborah Harkness, and named after the first novel in the trilogy.
It begins when a historian discovers a manuscript that sends her into a world of magic, where she must unravel the secrets it holds about magical beings.
Tanya appears as a demon called Agatha Wilson, and stars alongside the likes of Alex Kingston and Trevor Eve, as well as Line Of Duty actors Owen Teale and Aishya Hart. Speaking of which…
Line Of Duty – Anna Maxwell Martin
Streaming on: BBC iPlayer
The chances are you might have gotten into Motherland after first seeing Anna playing the dastardly AC-3 boss DCS Patricia Carmichael in Line Of Duty, so we probably don’t need to tell you too much about the hit BBC cop drama.
However, if you are not one of the 15 million people who are already obsessed with Line Of Duty, it’s basically a fantastically complicated police procedural, which sees a specialist anti-corruption unit investigating “bent coppers” and their links with organised crime.
Anna makes her first appearance in series five, and returns in series six – although you should probably start the show from the very beginning if you want it to make any sense.
The Terror – Paul Ready
Streaming on: BBC iPlayer
Much like how people can’t get over how Anna goes between such extreme characters with Motherland’s Julia and Line Of Duty’s Carmichael, Paul has fans similarly befuddled at how different his character in The Terror is to Kevin.
In case you haven’t seen the horror anthology drama, the first series – in which Paul appears as physician and naturalist Dr Harry Goodsir – is based on a fictionalised account of Captain Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition to the Arctic in 1845–1848 and is produced by Ridley Scott.
Bad Teacher – Lucy Punch
Streaming on: Netflix
After a number of roles in British films, Lucy made a full-time move to the US, and it wasn’t long before she landed a big Hollywood role sharing the big screen with Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake in the 2011 film Bad Teachers.
In it, she played sanctimonious school teacher Amy Squirrel, who becomes a rival Cameron’s character Elizabeth when she is less than impressed with Elizabeth’s teaching style.
It has to be said though, Lucy’s role is undoubtedly the best thing about what is otherwise not a great film.
After Life – Diane Morgan
Streaming on: Netflix
This Ricky Gervais sitcom has proved to be a huge hit since debuting on Netflix in 2019.
Ricky stars as Tony, whose life is turned upside down after his wife dies from breast cancer, and decides to punish the world by saying and doing whatever he wants.
Diane plays Kath in After Life, a colleague of Tony’s at the Tambury Gazette.
This Time With Alan Partridge – Tanya Moodie
Streaming on: BBC iPlayer
Tanya recently popped up in the second series of Steve Coogan’s latest vehicle for his much-loved comedy character Alan Partridge.
She played guest character Izzy Barnes in episode four, where the drama therapist led a live workshop in the studio, with some classic Partridge scenes unfolding.
The role also had a personal connection for Tanya, as in real life, she is a patron for drama therapy charity Roundabout Therapy.
Good Omens – Anna Maxwell Martin
Streaming on: Amazon Prime
Good Omens is based on the book of the same name by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and centres on an angel and demon who have to form an unlikely alliance to stop an impending Armageddon.
Problem is, they’ve lost the Antichrist, an 11-year-old boy who has no idea he needs to help stop the end of the days.
Anna plays Beezlebub, the leader of the forces from Hell.
MotherFatherSon – Paul Ready
Streaming on: BritBox
Written and created by the Emmy-nominated Tom Rob Smith – the man behind The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story and London Spy – this BBC drama tells the story of a dysfunctional family of a newspaper mogul.
In it, Paul plays Nick Caplan, a journalist for the Finch family’s paper, the National Reporter.
The series, which also stars Richard Gere and the late Helen McCrory, was met with positive reviews from critics when it debuted in 2019, even if it did feature one certain disturbing scene.
