The cast of Absolutely Fabulous are set to reunite for a special one-off episode looking back at the hit BBC sitcom.
Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, who played hapless PR Edina “Eddie” Monsoon and chaotic fashionista Patsy Stone in the much-loved comedy series, will share behind the scenes secrets and anecdotes from the much-loved show in Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out.
They’ll be joined by castmates Julia Sawalha (who played Edina’s long-suffering daughter Saffy) and Jane Horrocks (who starred as bizarrely dressed personal assistant Bubble) in the documentary, which is set to air on Gold later this year.
The stars will also pay tribute to the late June Whitfield, who played Edina’s mother, following her death in 2018.
According to Gold, the show will also feature “a glittering array of [the] archive’s best bits: from original scripts to high-fashion costumes, never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage, and the first ever episode.”
It marks the first time that the cast have joined forces on screen since Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie was released in 2016.
“I loved making Ab Fab but I can’t remember a great deal, so much of this retrospective is a revelation to me,” joked 65-year-old Saunders, who created the show.
Lumley, 78, described the “really thrilling” and “vastly entertaining” documentary as “a fabulous wander down memory lane by actresses who only have the faintest grip on reality”, adding that she “loved every second” of making it.
Absolutely Fabulous followed the antics of self-absorbed best friends Eddie and Patsy as they try to stay relevant in the fast-paced fashion world, consuming vast quantities of Bollinger champagne as they go.
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It took inspiration from “Modern Mother and Daughter”, a sketch from French and Saunders, which starred Saunders as an attention-seeking mother and Dawn French as her sensible, put-upon daughter.
It first aired on BBC Two in 1992 and eventually ran for five seasons, as well as inspiring a handful of special episodes. The final episodes were broadcast in 2012, marking the show’s 20th anniversary.
Saunders then brought her characters to the big screen in 2016, in a star-studded film that featured cameos from the likes of Kate Moss and Joan Collins.
In 2023, Saunders promised French, her longtime friend and comedy partner, that she would complete a new script “related” to Ab Fab by the end of that year.
During an episode of their podcast, the pair shook hands as Saunders vowed that she would write “a serious first draft of a film [or TV show] related to Ab Fab” before 31 December 2023.
