Ab Fab stars reunite

For a new retrospective on Gold

Here are Ab Fab stars Jennifer Saunders. Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha and Jane Horrocks as they reunite for a new retrospective of the classic sitcom.

The Gold channel is making a two-hour tribute show entitled Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out, which will air later this year.

Creator and star Saunders said: ‘I loved making Ab Fab but I can’t remember a great deal, so much of this retrospective is a revelation to me. Thank you Gold for this kind and helpful programme.’

Joanna Lumley, who played Patsy, added, ‘It was a fabulous wander down memory lane by actresses who only have the faintest grip on reality. Really thrilling, and I hope vastly entertaining. I loved every second.’

The show is being made by Expectation with Jon Plowman, who produced the original, an executive producer on this too.

He said: ‘It’s extraordinary that something that began 30 years ago is still finding an audience today. We must be doing something right… or wrong. Perhaps the secret of our success was the amount of champagne consumed on set before lunch.’

This is the first time the core cast have reunited since the Ab Fab movie was released in 2106.

The first three series of Absolutely Fabulous were broadcast on the BBC from 1992 to 1995, followed by a two-part finale in 1996. It was revived for two more series and two one-hour specials from 2001 to 2004, then three new episodes to mark its 20th anniversary in 2011.

Kirsty Hanson, who commissioned the retrospective, said: ‘Absolutely Fabulous captured the imagination of a whole generation of viewers and helped break the mould for female-led comedy TV forever. Fans of the show are in for a real treat with Jennifer, Joanna, Julia and Jane reuniting for what promises to be the comedy event of the year.’

Expectation’s Ben Wicks added that Ab Fab ‘somehow predicted the future: now the whole nation’s parents are drunken embarrassments to their sober and politically enlightened Gen Z kids’.

Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out production credits

Made by: Expectation
Series producer: Owen Braben.
Executive producers: Jon Plowman and Ben Wicks
Director: Simon Loyd
Commissioned by: Kirsty Hanson, senior commissioning editor, Gerald Casey, channel director for Gold and Hilary Rosen, director of commissioning

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Published: 19 Jun 2024