Pop a bottle of Bolly, darling – it sounds like Eddie and Patsy could be back to light up our screens (and, no doubt, another endless supply of menthols) sooner than expected.
Jennifer Saunders has promised her longtime creative partner Dawn French that a new script based on her classic sitcom Absolutely Fabulous is on the way.
The much-loved comedy, which was created by French and Saunders in 1992, originally ran for three seasons, following Eddie and Patsy (Joanna Lumley) in their various personal and professional crises.
A sequence of specials and two extra seasons later, the last time viewers saw the debauchees and their long-suffering friends and family was in the polarising 2016 film – but that could be about to change.
Speaking on their podcast Titting About, Dawn convinced (read: strong-armed) her comedy partner into promising a “serious first draft” of an Ab Fab-related script by the end of this year.
“I need to write a film or a series based on Ab Fab, because everyone wants another Ab Fab movie,” Jennifer explained, after her co-host asked what she wanted to be forced to do in the last few months of the year
“I can’t do that, I just don’t have a thing. I want to do something related.”
When questioned if the iconic Joanna Lumley would return to reprise her role as beehive-trailblazer Patsy, Jennifer answered: “Possibly, including some Ab Fab-ness, but not totally Ab Fab.”
Drawing up the terms of the bargain more stringently, Dawn then clarified that “by 31 December,” Jennifer would have written “a serious first draft of a film [or TV show] related to Ab Fab”.
And, to the joy of listeners and viewers around the globe, the pair shook hands on air, confirmed by Dawn, shouting: “She’s shaking on it! Alright, there’s a deal for a new Ab Fab product!”
Absolutely Fabulous also starred Julia Sawalha as Patsy’s long-suffering daughter Saffy, Jane Horrocks as Eddie’s hapless personal assistant Bubble and the late June Whitfield as Eddie’s Mother.
Speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2020, Joanna said that a reboot was unlikely, with June’s death a major factor in this decision.
“I think Jennifer’s decided not to do it. And also we’ve lost June Whitfield,” she explained. “We’re now all older. We’ll wait and see. But it’s up to Jennifer, it’s not up to any of us.”
There are currently no further details on whatever the next Ab Fab project will be – but it’s sure to contain a hell of a lot of bubbly, darling.