Anna Maxwell Martin has reflected on her Motherland audition, where she was admittedly rather “terse” when meeting with show bosses.
By the time the actress auditioned for Motherland in 2016, she had two BAFTAs under her belt, for Bleak House and Poppy Shakespeare respectfully.
During an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Maxwell Martin recalled: “I said to my agent, ‘Do I have to audition? I’ve heard other people aren’t auditioning. They’re just getting offered things.’ And he said, ‘You haven’t done any comedy… of course you’re going to go in and audition.'”
Feeling rather resentful, the actress admitted she was “pretty cross in the room… I was pretty terse”.
After the audition, Maxwell Martin was informed by her agent that her first audition had impressed and the Motherland team wanted to see her a second time.
“I went, ‘Nope. Why do they want to meet me again?’ He went, ‘They’d like to meet you again because they’re a bit scared of you.'”
As fans will know, Maxwell Martin got the part of the incredibly chaotic Julia and looking back, is mortified by her behaviour. “I got on set and I apologised profusely.”
Motherland concluded in 2022 with an emotional Christmas special, and many fans have continued to plead for a revival of the comedy series.
Speaking to The Times earlier this year, Maxwell Martin said the comedy had come to a “natural end” after three seasons.
“We weren’t sad because we felt we’d done really good work and were proud,” she said. “I’m so pleased [the spin-off] Amandaland has been a success.”
Asked whether she would be interested in making a cameo in the spin-off, Maxwell Martin gave a firm response: “No, it’s their show.”
Amandaland follows Lucy Punch’s Amanda as she adjusts to life as a single mother and a move from Chiswick to South Harlesden – and it’s not been easy.
The show became an immediate hit for the BBC, and just weeks after the release of season 2, it was renewed for a third season.
“We are thrilled to be heading back to SoHa for a third series of Amandaland and delighted the show has found the sort of audience that Amanda’s Instagram account could only dream of,” said co-writer and creator Holly Walsh and co-writer Laurence Rickard of the series, which recently scooped a BAFTA for best scripted comedy.
“We are already priming our keyboards to prompt AI into creating another batch of scripts and can’t wait to be reunited with our incredible cast and crew.”
Motherland is available to watch on catch-up on BBC iPlayer.
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