Spin-offs are always dubious – you’re never quite sure if they’re going to work (Angel, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off) or be a complete disaster (Joey, the Friends spin-off). Luckily though it seems like Amandaland, the Motherland spin-off, falls into the former category and we’ve been loving catching up with Lucy Punch as Amanda whilst she deals with the fallout of her divorce.
And while naturally Motherland’s Julia (Anna Maxwell Martin), Liz (Diane Morgan) and Kevin (Paul Ready) left some big shoes to fill, the new gang of parents in Amandaland have been doing a great job of filling them.
Especially Samuel Anderson as Mal – a single Dad who lives in the flat directly below Amanda and is therefore forced to deal with all of her shenanigans both at home and at school.
Who is Samuel Anderson?
Born in Handsworth, Birmingham to an Irish mother and Jamaican father, Anderson moved to London to study at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts as the start of his journey to becoming an actor.
One of his first roles came in 2004 when he originated the role of Crowther in the 2004 National Theatre production of Alan Bennett’s play The History Boys alongside James Corden as Timms and Russell Tovey as Rudge. He subsequently performed the role in several international versions of the play as well as the film adaptation of the same name.
Now 42, Anderson – who stands at 5’11 - has since turned his attention to TV and made a name for himself on the small screen.
What TV shows has Samuel Anderson been in?
Emmerdale
In October 2007, Anderson joined the cast of Emmerdale as police officer Ross Kirk. After being wrongly convicted of the murder of PC Shane Doyle (Paul McEwan) and rejected by girlfriend Donna Windsor-Dingle (Verity Rushworth), Kirk – and therefore Anderson – left Emmerdale.
Gavin & Stacey
When he made it big creating Gavin & Stacey, James Corden didn’t forget about his The History Boys co-stars and several of them made appearances as Gavin’s pals including Anderson as Fingers. Anderson even made an appearance in the final ever episode of the hit sitcom which aired at Christmas.
Trollied
Think Superstore but based in the UK. Trollied – which aired from 2011-2018 – follows the hapless staff of value supermarket Valco in Warrington, Cheshire. Anderson played assistant manager Daniel Wilson who dated both Charlotte ‘Charlie’ O’Connor (Aisling Bea) and Katie McVey (Chanel Cresswell) on the show.
Another Life
From 2019-2021 Anderson starred in the Netflix sci-fi series Another Life as William, the holographic interface of the sentient artificial intelligence aboard the Salvare aka a spaceship which attempts to communicate with aliens.
Amandaland
Returning to our TV screens in 2025, Anderson stars in Amandaland as Mal.
Speaking about Anderson’s casting, Lucy Punch revealed, ‘I was in the room when Sam auditioned, and he was this force of nature with incredible energy.
‘He was the first person confirmed for the show, and I was really excited. He's a brilliant actor and very funny in a dry way.’
Does Samuel Anderson have Instagram?
Sadly not. Guess we’ll just have to work our way through his extensive TV credit list in order to see his face again.
Daisy Hall is a News and Entertainment writer on Grazia, specialising in TV and film meaning that you can count on Daisy for the latest (and best) recommendations