Right, now that that bit of (potentially) bad news is out of the way…

As per the BBC’s official release, the Motherland Christmas special – written by the award-winning comedic giants that are Sharon Horgan, Holly Walsh, Helen Serafinowicz, and Barunka O’Shaughnessy – will see Julia (Anna Maxwell Martin) juggling a lot of plates. As always.

Why? Well, because she’s found herself with an extremely full house for Christmas dinner. And her husband, Paul (Oliver Chris), is far too busy playing with a VR headset that he ostensibly bought “for the kids” to offer much in the way of help.

Thankfully for Julia (or not so thankfully, depending on who’s asking), she’s invited Kevin (Paul Ready) along to spend the day with her clan. And, brimming with excitement, he’s taken it upon himself to cook up an absolute storm in the kitchen.

Throw in an unexpected appearance from Liz (Diane Morgan) and you have a recipe for an utterly mayhem-filled Christmas.

Watch the trailer for the Motherland Christmas special below:

Motherland Christmas special: get ready for your first look at the festive episode