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Louise Thomas
Editor
Much-loved British comedy series Absolutely Fabulous almost never made it to air because of one reason TV bosses think it couldn’t work.
The show followed the antics of self-absorbed best friends PR Edina “Eddie” Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley) as they try to stay relevant in the fast-paced fashion world, consuming vast quantities of Bollinger champagne as they go.
In their first reunion since Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie was released in 2016, the cast looked back at the show for a special one-off episode. In Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out, the creators and actors behind the series shared secrets and anecdotes from filming.
The sitcom’s producer John Plowman revealed that the programme almost never made it to air.
“We do the pilot and I see Robin Nash, Who was the then head of comedy [at the BBC] and I said, ‘What do you think?’” he explained.
“And he said, ‘I’ve never found women being drunk very funny.’ And I thought, ‘Well, that’s it, it’s over.’”
However, the show was saved by the reactions of audiences.
“But we did it in the evening,” Plowman continued. “The audience was wonderful and my most binding memory was at the end of it I saw Ben Elton [comedian] and he said, ‘Well, I’ve seen the future of comedy and it’s that.’”
Saunders and Lumley will also be joined by castmates Julia Sawalha (who played Edina’s long-suffering daughter Saffy) and Jane Horrocks (who starred as personal assistant Bubble) in the documentary.
“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.
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Absolutely Fabulous 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.
Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out will air on Gold on 17 October at 9pm.
