Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders to Uncork Three More Episodes of "Absolutely Fabulous" | Playbill

Related Articles
News Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders to Uncork Three More Episodes of "Absolutely Fabulous" Tony Award nominee Joanna Lumley and "Absolutely Fabulous" pal Jennifer Saunders have reunited for three upcoming specials that continue the champagne-fueled adventures of Patsy Stone and Edina Monsoon.

//assets.playbill.com/editorial/3dfed2f24df037f6557e333c3dfe5075-lumleybrief1.jpg
Joanna Lumley Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN

Lumley, who last appeared on the New York stage in the Broadway revival of David Hirson's La Bête and garnered a Tony nomination in the process, told Playbill.com in November 2010 that "Ab Fab" writer and co-star Jennifer Saunders was exploring a return to the hit BBC series that first launched in 1992.

Reports emerged last week that Lumley and Saunders, who play Patsy and Edina, respectively, were filming a shopping spree in London. The BBC is now reporting that three new special episodes are in production to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series.

It will also reunite Julia Sawalha as daughter Saffy, Jane Horrocks as Eddy's assistant Bubble and June Whitfield as Eddy's mum.

"Like a good bottle of champagne we hope that we have got better with time without losing any of our sparkle. Last week when we started filming in dear old west London, it was as if nothing had changed. It was raining. Nevertheless, we are so happy to be working for an audience that has grown just a tiny bit older like us, but is still willing to let us fall over on TV in the name of PR," Saunders said in a statement.

According to the BBC, in the first episode audiences will reunite with the "Ab Fab" crew during a "life-changing experience for one - which affects them all." The second will follow Eddy as she sets her sights on changing the career of a "very big fish indeed," and the final episode will find Eddy and Patsy as they play their own part in the 2012 London Olympics. Lumley is also announced to make a return to the West End stage in a revival of James Goldman's The Lion in Winter opposite Robert Lindsay at the Theatre Royal Haymarket this November. Saunders is at work authoring the book to the new Spice Girl musical, Viva Forever.

"Absolutely Fabulous" debuted in 1992 on BBC and traced the booze-fueled antics of ill-equipped PR "mogul" Eddie Monsoon and her chain-smoking best friend and fashion editor Patsy Stone. An uptight disapproving daughter, absent-minded mother and completely incompetent assistant figure into the series that ran through 1996 and returned for a 2001-2004 run.

 
RELATED:
Today’s Most Popular News:
 X

Blocking belongs
on the stage,
not on websites.

Our website is made possible by
displaying online advertisements to our visitors.

Please consider supporting us by
whitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.
Thank you!