The biggest star of series two of BBC comedy series Amandaland? Beyond Lucy Punch’s stellar turn as aspirational mum Amanda, and Phillippa Dunne’s show-stealing Anne, there is the down-to-earth London neighbourhood where the modern parenting comedy plays out.
While ‘South’ Harlesden – rebranded to ‘SoHa’ by Amanda in the Motherland spin-off – doesn’t actually exist on the capital’s map, Harlesden definitely does.
Series one saw Amanda forced to decamp from leafier, pricier Chiswick following a messy divorce to the ‘up-and-coming’ north-west London enclave.
While in real-life, Harlesden can’t yet compete with Amanda’s beloved former neighbourhood when it comes to property prices and coffee shops, it’s an area that’s garnered plenty of celebrity fans thanks to its low-key, community-focused atmosphere.
Alpha-mum Amanda Hughes, played by Lucy Punch, lives and works in South Harlesden, which the star rebrands as SoHa in the show
The maisonette where Amanda lives in SoHa… which is actually Ferntower Road on the border of Highbury and Islington
Documentary maker Louis Theroux spent more than a decade raising his sons with wife Nancy in the area before moving to nearby Queen’s Park.
He once told the Evening Standard that the first thing he did when returning to Harlesden from work overseas was to order an ‘extra large latte at the café in Roundwood Park’.
The urban green space the broadcaster is referring to is quite the pastoral celebrity haven, with Tamsin Greig, who most recently starred in Sally Wainwright drama Riot Girls on BBC One, regularly spotted walking her dog there.
Other famous faces who’ve been spotted include Sex Education and Game of Thrones star Samantha Spiro and Ben Bailey Smith, star of Disney+ series Star Wars: Andor – and brother of author Zadie Smith.
The average price of a Harlesden property last year was £496,963, compared to £1,052,051 in Chiswick, according to Rightmove.
Local landmarks include the Jubilee Clock, unveiled in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, and the McVities Biscuit Factory.
Opened in 1902, the factory still produces around 27million biscuits every day – and ensures Harlesden often smells like digestives.
What fans of the series, which is airing on Thursday nights on BBC One, might be surprised to learn is that the show’s stars didn’t actually set foot in Harlesden to film it.
Much of the comedy was filmed on the other side of north London, in Muswell Hill and Islington, areas that are considered much more affluent than Harlesden.
Harlesden’s pretty Roundwood Park, where famous faces are often seen walking their pets
Louis Theroux lived in Harlesden for more than a decade and Riot Women star Tamsin Greig is also a long-time resident of the area
The exterior of Amanda’s home is from Ferntower Road on the border of Highbury and Islington. A three-bedroom flat on the street similar to the one Amanda lives in sold for £1.36million in January last year.
The road is just minutes from Canonbury station, Newington Green and cult bakery Jolene where a coffee and croissant will set you back around £8. A Sunday roast at the local pub, The Snooty Fox, costs around £25.
Meanwhile, the school Amanda’s children, Manus and Georgie, are now attending is filmed on the other side of London at Oaklands School Sixth Form in Tower Hamlets.
Anne’s home, meanwhile is actually even further east of Harlesden on Chestnut Avenue on Forest Gate.
During series one, the property’s real-life owner Robert Nurden revealed that a BBC location scout put a flyer through his door and asked to film inside.
‘My gaff, for just one afternoon, was going to be lived in by one of the three stars of the show – Philippa Dunne (who plays the put-upon Anne), the kindest of the triumvirate of leading women,’ he told publication E7.
And the KB&K Kitchen company where Amanda (sort of) works? It’s actually Admo Kitchens on Leytonstone High Road in East London.
Whether fans will be tracking down the streets showcased in the series for selfies remains to be seen.
Richmond, in south-west London, has felt the Ted Lasso tourism effect since the show first aired in 2020 – will Amandaland do the same for Harlesden?
The tiny alleyway where Ted resides in the series has become a year-round tourist attraction, with a merchandise shop dedicated to the show
Across town in Richmond, the effect of Apple TV series Ted Lasso, has spawned guided tours and a two-storey merchandise shop selling replica AFC Richmond shirts, boosting tourism in the riverside town.
Since first arriving on screens in 2020, the series has brought thousands of tourists to Paved Court, a narrow alleyway just off the green. US football coach Ted’s flat is situated on the street in the show, as well as the nearby The Prince’s Head pub, which appears as The Crown and Anchor on screen. A fourth series of the show is set to be released later this year.
However, Paved Court has also experienced the pitfalls of being such a high profile thoroughfare.
At the end of January, two men were seen smashing the windows of Gregory & Co jewellers, at the top end of the pedestrian passage, with a large hammer in a video that went viral online. Three men have since been charged in relation to the incident.
