It’s no fun to be the punchline of a joke, but that was the suspicion at news that the spin off to wincingly accurate mum-com Motherland was migrating from Chiswick to ‘South Harlesden’.
Co-created by Sharon Horgan and Holly Walsh, Amandaland, which debuts on BBC One at 9pm tonight (February 5), sees Lucy Punch’s egotistical alpha mum come down in the world post-divorce — gamely styling out her move to vibrant ‘SoHa’.
As anyone who lives in this sprawling Victorian neighbourhood — divided by the unlovely A404 — will tell you, there’s no such place.
A quick skim of filming locations reveals Amandaland was shot in the more upmarket Islington, and Muswell Hill, which had to be artfully distressed.
One excited Islington resident posted on Threads: ‘The production designers have decided to make our street very run down, with discarded shopping trolley etc! Amanda has obviously fallen on hard times.’
‘Ooh’ says another, ‘Is that Joanna Lumley hiding behind a camper van? OMG it is!’
Then: ‘I just read that Amandaland is meant to be set in South Harlesden so am now deeply offended they are using our streets.’
Grrr.
Even if Amanda’s ag-ag mum Felicity played by Lumley, and punchbag friend Anne (Philippa Dunne) never made it to Harlesden High Street, the local WhatsApp groups have been blowing up — just happy the area’s getting any mention that’s not about violent crime or drugs.
One local estate agent snorted with laughter when I called about Harlesden’s selling points — then put me on hold and cut me off.
Clearly he thought it was a prank call.
But James Jooste of Churchill Mathesons, which has three decades experience and a presence on Manor Park Road, loves the area’s vibe.
“It’s super friendly, I like the culture,” he says. “Some of Harlesden hasn’t changed or gentrified but it is moving. I’ve sold a good few flats to young professionals.
“It’s a busy, mixed community in Zone 3 with good transport connections, and really good value. You can still get a three-bed Edwardian on a nice street that needs a bit of work for £630,000.”
Best streets in Harlesden
Jooste advises Amanda to consider the prime roads Longstone Avenue, Sellons Avenue, Harlesden Gardens and Wrottesley Road, where houses can fetch north of £1million, although she’s said to be living in a flat, which range from £350,000 to £500,000 for larger ones on Minet Avenue or Fairlight Avenue.
“People still want traditional Edwardian and there’s a good spread of investment properties and large, well-built family homes with high ceilings and beautiful features,” adds Jooste.
Local celeb Louis Theroux lived on Harlesden Gardens before shifting to Queen’s Park, but was often seen in the area’s chief selling point Roundwood Park.
The community-spirited open space, where actors Ben Bailey Smith, Tamsin Greig, and Samantha Spiro have been spotted walking their dogs, has play areas, a wooden chalet-style café and gardening project.
It’s prime bumps and babies territory — although Amanda’s teens Manus and Georgie might prefer hanging out at the adjoining skate park.
For down-scaling divorcees or up-scaling North Londoners, Jooste recommends the Old Oak Common Conservation area.
“It’s a little triangle of small but quaint cottages often with extensions that go for £620,000 to £650,000 right next to a transport hub,” he said.
Films like Eddie the Eagle, Madness’s Our House, and Pulp’s Common People videos were shot there and the tightknit community pools filming fees to fund day trips and civic improvements.
Transport in Harlesden
A nexus of Overground lines, plus the Bakerloo, mean Amanda may need double glazing against the noise from Willesden Junction — or the never-ending HS2 works.
But sometime after 2029, she’ll be one of the few to benefit from a super-fast connection to Birmingham — or more handily a hook up with the Lizzie Line.
Schools in Harlesden
School-wise, Amanda might have to consider paying or praying. The series blurb says Manus and Georgie are now teens and Amanda is ‘dealing with modern motherhood horrors like teenage drinking, fake Instagram accounts and eco anxiety’.
If they’re too old for Outstanding St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, she might collect enough points from weekly worship to get into Outstanding Twyford C of E Secondary in Acton, or the local comp of choice, Queen’s Park Community School, is choc-full of the offspring of famous broadcasters, DJs, music and film industry types.
Where to eat, drink and shop in Harlesden
Brent has a famously diverse community where 149 languages are spoken, and if Amanda wants to entertain her new neighbour Mal on her reduced budget, she should head to High Street grocery store Way 2 Save, an Aladdin’s cave of international ingredients at a fraction of the prices in Chiswick Waitrose.
As Amanda builds her lifestyle influencer brand, she could get inspo at Nilly Flowers in Park Parade — which hosts a Sri Lankan supper club on Fridays, or from the makers markets in Standard Road, Park Royal, where she can slip into the speak-easy style Standard Bar afterwards for a craft gin.
For meet ups with new friends Della and Fi she can swap her Gail’s reward card for brunches, and post school Pizza at Rubio on Park Parade, while ditching the yoga mat to hang out at Elmwood Lawn Tennis Club off Wrottesley Road, where the bar runs regular Friday knees up s for parents letting their hair down while the kids run amok.
For nights out she will likely swerve the slot machines and cheap shots at Harlesden’s underwhelming Royal Oak — not to mention other ‘wet’ pubs and chicken shops on the High Street — and hop on a Lime Bike if Brent Council hasn’t banned them.
A short spin will bring her to Chamberlayne Road with independent cinema The Lexi, and a string of decent pubs in The Chamberlayne, The Whippet, Paradise and Parlour.
College Road with its Italian deli L’Angolo, and pub The Island is also Kensal Rise territory, but café bar Morty & Bobs would bring Amanda neatly back full circle.
It was once the much-lamented Gracelands Café where the Motherland pilot was shot back in 2016.
