The matriarchs of Motherland are back for a one-off special. Here, straight-talking Liz offers advice for stress-free festivities
Christmas is a time for giving, for receiving, and for getting really, really stressed as that perfectly laid table gets covered in an upended bottle of red wine and the cat coughs up another tinsel furball. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Out of all the matriarchs (and poor Kevin!) on the BBC sitcom Motherland, including perma-smiling “Alpha mums” overlord Amanda (Lucy Punch) and desperate-to-be-accepted, permanently harangued Julia (Anna Maxwell Martin), it is the blunt-talking Liz (Diane Morgan) who has the right idea. Basically: as long as everyone stays fed and watered, and no one dies, Christmas is easy.