Joanna Lumley's one regret as a mum to grown-up son Jamie

Joanna Lumley is nothing short of a national treasure so naturally fans are thrilled that she's back on screens in the BBC spin-off comedy, Amandaland

The role sees the Ab Fab legend take on the role of Felicity, the on-screen mum to Lucy Punch's titular character.

Joanna's alter-ego is full of hilarious if cutting remarks as she navigates an often-times frosty relationship with her grown-up daughter.

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In real life, however, Joanna's relationship with her son, Jamie, 57, couldn't be more different.

Joanna has opened up candidly in the past about their solid bond and what her experience was like raising him as a single mother.

In a previous interview on Esther Rantzen's podcast, the comedy actress explained how she has one regret when it comes to Jamie's childhood.

While recounting how Jamie was sent off to boarding school as a child, the 78-year-old shared how she told her son to write her a letter if he wasn't enjoying himself and that she would immediately bring him back home.

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However, their "pact" didn't quite go to plan, as Jamie did write his mother letters expressing his sadness about being away from home, only for the headmaster to intercept the delivery meaning Joanna was none the wiser.

She explained: "The boys had to give all their letters to the headmaster before they were sealed up and posted and he was made to rewrite the ones that said, 'Please take me away.' He could never get the message through to me, so I never knew and I could never take him away."

Joanna continued: "That knowledge of that burns me to this day. I love my son. He's the pure gold in my life and to think he was miserable and believed I hadn't fulfilled my promise, it just cuts me to the core."

Jamie went on to build a successful career for himself in his own right. Joanna's son pursued photography and over the course of his career, he has had his work displayed in exhibitions all over the globe.

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Joanna was 21 years old when she gave birth to her only son. Joanna split from Jamie's father, Michael Claydon – who was also a photographer – and raised him as a single mother.

Joanna is also a grandmother to Jamie's daughters, Alice, 22, and Emily, 21. Meanwhile, fans are loving Amandaland which arrived on screens last week.

The sitcom follows the life of snobbish mum Amanda as she settles her two children into secondary school in South Harlesden (or SoHa), having downsized from Chiswick following her divorce.