As ocean-going snob Amanda in the new hit BBC comedy Amandaland, Lucy Punch is forced to up sticks from the upmarket West London hotspot of Chiswick to the up-and-coming South Harlesden, which she dubs So-Ha.
And her on-screen mother Felicity, played by Dame Joanna Lumley, makes her disapproval clear when she urges her to ‘let me in before I get mugged’ as she turns up on her doorstep.
But Ms Punch is unlikely to provoke such disapproval in her own parents – since the 47-year-old actress lives alongside the rich and famous in the West Hollywood hills, counting Jack Nicholson and Kim Kardashian as neighbours.
In fact, she was one of many in the celebrity enclave to be forced to flee her £2million home to escape the devastating wildfires that swept Los Angeles last month.
And she has now confessed the ordeal has left her torn as to whether to stay put in California or return to her native London.
She moved to LA almost 20 years ago and lives with artist Dinos Chapman – one half of the former Young British Artist duo the Chapman Brothers – and their sons Rex, nine, and a three-year-old whose name has not been revealed.
The family had to decamp to the Joshua Tree desert as the wildfire approached. Fortunately their three-bedroom country farmhouse – with its wood-burners and sun-drenched patio – in the exclusive Laurel Canyon area survived the inferno.
But the toll has been enormous. ‘It was shocking and devastating for a lot of friends,’ Ms Punch said.
Amandaland actress Lucy Punch was one of many in the celebrity enclave to be forced to flee her £2million home (pictured) to escape the devastating wildfires that swept Los Angeles last month
The 47-year-old actress (pictured) has now confessed the ordeal has left her torn as to whether to stay put in California or return to her native London
The family had to decamp to the Joshua Tree desert as the wildfire (pictured) approached
‘It’s like imagining East London flattened – schools, neighbourhoods just gone. How do you get that back? It’s going to be years and years.’
On the subject of relocating, she added: ‘I’ve always got one foot out the door, wherever I am. I never got round to getting a green card [which allows foreigners to live and work in the US]. I’m on these rolling visas, which is ridiculous: I have a home there and I have two American children. But I can’t commit to anywhere. I get itchy feet. I like being a little bit here and a little bit there.’
The actress, who TV audiences first grew to love and hate as Amanda in the hit BBC comedy series Motherland, has admitted she struggles with ‘juggling’ her career and parenthood.
After Motherland finished in 2022, it was revealed there would be a spin-off starring Ms Punch’s Amanda in the lead role. Airing on the BBC this week, it has been well reviewed by critics and fans.
‘[Motherland] is so relatable and familiar to everyone who’s ever been there,’ she has said. ‘There’s all the juggling with work and childcare and there’s always that perfect mother… I secretly wish it was me.
‘They’re perfectly turned out with perfect children but no one can really be like that, without any flaws, can they?’
She admitted that, even as she was filming the series, she was living an imperfect life.
‘My home’s in America, but when I was filming I stayed in London with my son and enrolled him in a different school. He was jet-lagged and not sleeping, so I was rattled and exhausted.
After Motherland finished in 2022, it was revealed there would be a spin-off starring Ms Punch’s Amanda in the lead role – with Dame Joanna Lumley playing her on-screen mother Felicity
‘I was in the perfect mood for the show. I’m fascinated by how other working mums do it and look so normal.’
When asked if the ‘school-gates’ culture in America is similar to that in the UK, Ms Punch, who was born in Hammersmith, West London, said: ‘Oh, absolutely.
‘And the WhatsApps are off the scale – they are insane. I’d say they are probably 50 per cent Amandas. Everyone’s very glossy.’
Ms Punch’s husband Chapman was previously married to French-born textile designer Tiphaine de Lussy with whom he had two children. They split in 2014.
Ms Punch attended the prestigious private school, Godolphin and Latymer, whose notable alumni include TV presenter Davina McCall and TV cook Nigella Lawson, before studying history at University College London. But she quickly discovered her true calling and dropped out of university to pursue a career in acting.
She landed a role in Let Them Eat Cake, a BBC sitcom starring Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French, which aired in 1999.
Shortly afterwards, she bagged roles in episodes of Poirot and Midsomer Murders, as well as a part as a receptionist in Doc Martin. She even appeared opposite supermodel Jerry Hall in a stage version of The Graduate.
TV audiences first grew to love and hate the actress as Amanda in the hit BBC comedy series Motherland (pictured)
After several years of steady jobs in both TV and film – and bored with being cast as ‘posh idiots’ – Ms Punch moved to LA in the early 2000s, where she was cast in comedy show The Class.
She also won roles in hit films such as Bad Teacher, opposite Cameron Diaz, but claimed they weren’t lucrative gigs.
She said: ‘Every movie I’ve done, when they cast me they knew I’d probably do it for a toffee apple and a frappuccino.
‘Everyone assumes you must be making a fortune, but I’m still driving around in my bashed-up Honda Civic.’
