Last updated at 11:32 AM on 21st November 2011
Sweetie, darling... we’re back! Two decades after they first took a swig of Bolly, the stars of Absolutely Fabulous have returned – and they barely look a day older.
Jennifer Saunders has resurrected outrageous fashion PR Edina Monsoon and reunited with Joanna Lumley, Jane Horrocks, Julia Sawalha and June Whitfield.
And posing with a rictus grin on her seemingly-Botoxed face, while clad in what looks like a dead ferret and Bacofoil, it’s like Miss Saunders's most feted character never left our screens.
Still Fabulous: Jane Horrocks, 47, Julia Sawalha, 43, Jennifer Saunders, 53, June Whitfield, 86, and Joanna Lumley, 65, will reprise their roles in a festive comeback
While her best friend, alcoholic fashion editor Patsy Stone, played by Miss Lumley, still seems sozzled as she grimaces in black leather with her trademark bleached beehive backcombed into submission.
Miss Saunders, 53, wrote three new episodes which will be aired at Christmas, while recovering from breast cancer.
The series, affectionately nicknamed Ab Fab, followed the lives of the fashion and fad-obsessed Eddy and Patsy - not forgetting Edina’s long-suffering daughter Saffy, played by Miss Sawalha and dippy assistant Bubble, played by Miss Horrocks.
Bubble now seems to be taking fashion tips from a Japanese schoolgirl, while Saffy still has that same disapproving glare.
Mother - or Gran – is played by Miss Whitfield, who at 86 really does not seem to have aged in the intervening years.
Then: The cast (minus Miss Horrocks) hardly seem to have aged since the first series of Absolutely Fabulous in 1992
Absolutely Fabulous was first broadcast in 1992 and ran for three series and a two-part special until 1996. It returned for two more series and another two specials between 2001 and 2004, with a Comic Relief edition on BBC1 in 2005.
And this reunion might not be the last, as Miss Saunders has spoken of an Ab Fab film.
'We thought it would be hilarious if [Edina and Patsy] went to a party on an oligarch’s yacht, got drunk, fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the ocean,' she said.
Satire: Miss Saunders and Miss Lumley's roles in Absolutely Fabulous poked fun at the arrogance and vanity of the fashion industry in Nineties London
Christine Langan, head of BBC Films, then appeared to confirm the film deal, saying: 'I think Jennifer’s a genius. I can’t imagine anything more exciting than working with her.'
Mother-of-three Miss Saunders earlier this month broke her silence on her cancer battle, and claimed that it would be 'ghastly' for her to 'evoke sympathy' as many people have 'much worse times'.
Cancer battle: Miss Saunders with her husband, the comedian Adrian Edmondson, who nursed her through her battle with breast cancer
The star, who is the most successful female comedian of the last 25 years, said that she kept her illness private rather than secret and she did not mind when it came out – or even losing her hair.
'I think the idea of losing your hair is still very potent, emotional thing,' she said.
'Not for me, I didn’t mind so much. What I didn’t realise was that every bit of hair would go.
'Then, when it comes back, it comes back a lot.
'Every hair you ever had is suddenly back, reborn.'
Miss Saunders may just be putting a brave face on her suffering as her husband, the comedian Adrian Edmondson, last year told how it was 'low, miserable grind' during her treatment and recovery.
Speaking in November 2010, Mr Edmondson said: 'It was horrible for her and for us, because it’s very hard to support someone and make them feel better through
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2064098/Absolutely-Fabulous-cast-reunited-Christmas-specials-BBC-unveils-festive-schedule.html#ixzz1eLvCWorP
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