Secrets of Absolutely Fabulous revealed from why Joanna thought she hadn’t got part to men being obsessed with her boobs
IT was the hit comedy that centred on two women barely able to hold a drink, let alone a conversation, without chaos unfolding.
But behind the scenes, the stars of Absolutely Fabulous were pushing against the tides of comedy — and beat the backlash to make it one of the most successful female-led shows of all time.
When Jennifer Saunders, at the height of her French And Saunders fame in the early Nineties, pitched Ab Fab, television producer Jon Plowman was right behind the idea.
The same could not be said for BBC commissioner Robin Ash.
Joanna Lumley, who played maneater Patsy Stone in the sitcom, says: “I remember Robin saying, ‘Sorry, no, this is not going to work, and it’s not funny. Drunk women aren’t funny and that’s that.”
Jennifer, who brought to life PR guru Edina Monsoon, adds: “Robin also said, ‘Beware of the sitcom where the writer takes the main part’ . . . ”
The duo look back over the success of the comedy, which first aired in 1992 and ended with a film in 2016, in a new documentary.
‘They honestly thought that was my t**s’
Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out sees the pair reunite with Jane Horrocks and Julia Sawalha, who played personal assistant Bubble and Edina’s daughter Saffy, for the trip down memory lane for Gold.
For many, the fact Absolutely Fabulous was an almost entirely female cast was what made it a triumph.
But Tom Hollander, who played Saffy’s boyfriend Paolo, said that took a bit of getting used to.
He reveals: “I went to rehearse, and I remember thinking, ‘This is a matriarchy, this is quite nice, everything is being done by ladies, and there’s Joanna Lumley handing out Rothmans’.
“I remember there being not very much formal rehearsal, just a lot of people being very funny, an intimidating level of people being hilarious and all topping each other.
“I remember thinking, ‘This is all fabulous, they are all rock-star level famous because of this show’.
“During filming, one after the other as they came out, the audience would go, ‘Wah!’ — but Tom Hollander, silence.”
Meera Syal, who played Suzy Menkes, adds: “The fact that it’s from the female gaze is where the magic lies. Jennifer’s voice was authentic.
“There’s a bit of Patsy in every woman. You watch her and think, ‘I wish I had the ovaries to do that’.”
The series, which ran for five series plus specials including a 20th anniversary episode in 2011, was not afraid to push the boundaries of what women could say on screen.
Among the jokes are knitting- needle abortions, women watching porn, plastic surgery, drug abuse and gynaecologists being able to “look you in the vagina but not the eye”.
In one episode of the series, Joanna sports a tight-fitting black latex outfit and a pair of fake breasts as “Boobarella”, from her character Patsy’s X-rated modelling days.
Joanna reveals she is still sent photographs of the character for her to sign. She says: “Occasionally people have taken screen grabs of it, and sent it to me to sign.
“That was my fear, that they honestly thought that was my ts. So the truth is, I say, ‘Look, it’s not me’ — I turn into a very kind old grandmother and say, ‘This was good fun’, and sign it as Patsy Stone.
“Patsy would have liked that.”
The success of the series attracted stars from all over the world who were keen to get involved.
Stars such as Baby Spice Emma Bunton, Joan Collins, Kate Moss, Lulu and even Elton John all signed up to take part.
Absolutely Fabulous also launched the careers of dozens of others including, Joanna claims, acting hunk Idris Elba.
The then aspiring actor played male escort Hilton in 1995.
Jennifer explains: “We got Emma Bunton on because we needed Eddie to have another client.
“One time, by chance, we were filming on a bridge in Paris and (French singer) Sacha Distel walked by. We had Whoopi Goldberg, who was fantastic, Elton . . .
“I like to think that we launched Idris in Absolutely Fabulous but we did give him the worst jokes, poor man, so I’m not surprised he doesn’t advertise it.”
Praise came from less likely sources, including Queen Noor of Jordan, who is mentioned in one episode.
Joanna recalls: “I was at a dinner and sitting opposite Benedict Cumberbatch, who was sitting next to an attractive woman who lent forward to me with her beautiful hair and said, ‘Hello, Joanna’.
“She said, ‘I’m Queen Noor of Jordan, and the kudos I have now in my family, with my children since your programme came out’. I said, ‘I’ll pass that on to Jennifer’.
“It became something people wanted to be associated with, because of Jennifer — she’s wonderful.”
‘I thought it a dead loss, I nearly wasn’t Patsy’
While Joanna had made a name for herself in the modelling and acting world before being cast as Patsy, not all the cast members were household names.
Jane Horrocks originally auditioned for the part of Saffy and although she was not successful, she was too good to let go.
Jennifer says: “Jane wasn’t right, but she was just too good not to have something, so I made Bubble.
“I read a scene with Julia as Saffy and I remember not being able to look at her, because she just got it.
“Then we had June Whitfield, who gave Mother such madness. She was incredible.”
Despite all the success, Joanna reveals she almost turned down the role of Patsy.
She explains: “Patsy Stone came into my life in a script through the door.
“I read it, and it was the funniest thing in the world, so I was invited to the BBC to meet Jennifer.
Because I’d been a model, I’d always been cast as the pretty girlfriend or sad victim
Joanna Lumley
“I remember doing a scene in the back of a car. There was no description as to who or what Patsy was like, and so I didn’t know.
“As Jennifer was not at her most communicative in those days, she gave me no hints but to look sadder and crosser at every word I uttered.
“I thought it was a dead loss, we didn’t know each other and I didn’t know what she wanted.
“I rang my agent and said, ‘I don’t think Jennifer wants me, can you get me out of this?” and they said, ‘It’s just a pilot, just do it, it might not take off’. I nearly wasn’t Patsy.”
It gave Joanna an opportunity, at the very least, to expand herself beyond the roles she had previously taken, which included being a Bond Girl alongside George Lazenby.
Five top moments
FASHION AWARDS SHOW: Eddie has bribed the judges so she gets a gong. But guest star Naomi Campbell, playing herself, announces the title has gone to a rival PR. Patsy gets up and declares to the room: “I need a wazz.”
DESTROYING THE CHALET: Bored on a ski trip, Eddie and Patsy end up in a huge row, flinging cushions at each other. It descends into all-out destruction in a brilliant physical comedy scene.
PENNY CASPAR-MORSE: Eddie’s battle with her weight is mocked when rival Penny arrives for a surprise visit. Patsy declares: “Great news!” “She’s fat?” “Better than that – she’s blind!”
SAFFY’S PLAY: Saffy writes an autobiographical play. Patsy is delighted that a man in drag plays her.
DRUNK CAR ARREST: Patsy and Eddie are arrested for drunk driving and are sentenced to community service.
She says: “Because I’d been a model, I’d always been cast as the pretty girlfriend or sad victim, or somebody who is not funny.
“So the idea that Patsy probably had most of her organs removed and she smoked a lot and drunk a lot, hung out with The Stones . . .
“Patsy’s sort of not there a lot of the time. She looks fab and waits for Eddy to do things, then she will be there too as she had a slim grasp of anything going on.
“They egg each other on to do things they wouldn’t do alone, they do them together.”
This would soon become the reality for Jennifer and Joanna, who became firm friends.
Jennifer says: “We just had the best time. Yes, we had to do a bit of filming, I wouldn’t have cared if we’d never even filmed it because just to be in rehearsal was the most fun thing.
“I remember laughing so, so hard and it must’ve been so annoying for other people because we found everything we did funny.
“One of my favourite moments was Patsy eating.
‘People say we couldn’t get away with it today’
“We were so close to her in the shot, Julia and I, and Joanna was eating a crisp. We laughed so hard that by the actual take, we’re not in the shot at all.”
Despite the good times, and the demand from fans all over the world, Jennifer is adamant she has no plans to revive the series or go with another movie.
Show producer Jon is in agreement, telling today’s Radio Times: “Lots of people say we couldn’t get away with Ab Fab today, with its smoking, drinking, drug taking, jokes about weight issues, alcoholism and knitting-needle abortions. I disagree.
“There has been discussion about whether political correctness is killing comedy.
“But that argument is often made by comics who aren’t funny, blaming PC. Some things are never funny, like punching down. Comedy should always punch up.”
- Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out airs on Gold at 9pm on October 17.