Main News Stories About 'Absolutely Fabulous':

• BBC asks for new Absolutely Fabulous series (06/01/12)
• Jennifer Saunders to write an Absolutely Fabulous film (08/11/11)
• Absolutely Fabulous to return for new episodes (20/04/11)

Joanna Lumley: 'I'm obviously up for an Ab Fab musical'

Joanna Lumley has revealed that she is interested in future Absolutely Fabulous projects.

Written by Tom Eames. Digital Spy, 24th January 2013

Joanna Lumley has no plans to retire as Patsy

Ab Fab star Joanna Lumley has insisted there is plenty of puff left in Patsy - as she vowed to never retire.

The Sun, 18th December 2012

Emmy nomination for the return of Absolutely Fabulous

Crack open the Bolly - the return of Absolutely Fabulous has been nominated for an International Emmy.

Written by Sherna Noah. The Independent, 8th October 2012

Joanna Lumley: Absolutely Fabulous could go on forever

Joanna Lumley has said Ab Fab could go on forever, as she and Jennifer Saunders have discussed continuing until their characters are over 100 years old.

Metro, 25th August 2012

Ab Fab at 20 shows great sitcom well past its prime

The recent trio of Absolutely Fabulous specials arrive on DVD - offering an unfortunate reminder of how this once mighty sitcom has fallen.

Written by Larushka Ivan-Zadeh. Metro, 2nd August 2012

In Absolutely Fabulous, Edina wailed: "There's so much new stuff happening, I just can't keep up." She could have been talking about the comedy itself for this was a tired revival, proving yet again that John Cleese was right to institute a rule for sitcoms you could call the 12 Steps - two series of six then goodbye.

Aidan Smith, The Scotsman, 29th July 2012

I watched (after the first 10 minutes, at gunpoint) the Absolutely Fabulous Olympic "special". If I suggested we call it Absolutely Dreadfulous I would still, if lazily, have come up with a better gag than was allowed to enter the programme.

Euan Ferguson, The Observer, 29th July 2012

I don't wish to raise unnecessary alarm, but there was a rather strange development at BBC1 last Monday as the continuity guy introduced the Absolutely Fabulous Olympic special. Because these were his exact words: 'Next tonight, comedy gold as Eddie and Patsy get into the Olympic spirit.'

My initial concern here was that the BBC appeared to have caught a nasty case of 'reviewing our own show' disease, which medical sources suggest was first brought into this country by a Mr S Cowell, of London. Half an hour later.

If this is to be the last we see of their grotesque creations they will never be able to say with any degree of honesty that they went out on a high.

I had an even greater problem. Namely, how do I go about suing the national broadcaster for a flagrant breach of the Trades Descriptions Act?
Because this was not gold of any kind, least of all comedy. In fact, for the most part it wasn't comedy of any kind, either.

Yes, there was the odd wry Olympics observation, although nothing that could touch the satirical majesty of BBC2's brilliant Twenty Twelve. And yes, there was a very clever sight gag when Patsy held up Eddie's body contouring all-in-one.
But the rest of the jokes were so lame that on more than one occasion I swear I spotted Derek Redmond's dad rushing up to help them over the line.

They saved the worst one - a real stinker about Clare Balding which I cannot even bring myself to commit to print here - until near the end. (Presumably the thinking was that they would get away with it because most people would have switched off by then.)

Of course, it is Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley I feel most sorry for. If this is to be the last we see of their grotesque creations they will never be able to say with any degree of honesty that they went out on a high.
In Olympic terms, they never even got near the podium.

At best it had the feel of a tired and uninspired end-of-the-run panto. At worst it was like watching a low-rent drag act spewing out filth and innuendo in the vain hope of getting at least one laugh in a grotty East End pub.

Plus, it was in no way helped by the most irritatingly intrusive laughter track in history, which featured one spectacularly loud woman who sounded like a hyena on HRT being fed into a woodchipper.

On a more positive note, it will have provided a welcome boost to David Jason's ego. Because thanks to some of the physical comedy on show here, his performances in The Royal Bodyguard have now slipped to No 2 on this year's Most Toe-Curling TV Slapstick chart.
David can also boast that the BBC didn't hijack his show and fill it with sneaky and self-congratulatory plugs for their upcoming Jubilee coverage. Jennifer Saunders didn't get off so lightly.

First say (the criminally wasted Julia Sawalha) had a line about how much better the TV coverage of the Olympics is in Britain than in Africa. Then Gran (the genuinely wonderful June Whitfield) gave the BBC another premature pat on the back with this closing thought: 'I don't understand why anyone would actually want to be there when they can watch it in comfort on the good old Auntie Beeb.'

Ian Hyland, The Daily Mail, 28th July 2012

Video: Saunders & Lumley carry Olympic flame

Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley jointly carried the Olympic flame in London, a day before the opening ceremony. The pair, famous for their roles as Edina and Patsy in the hit comedy Absolutely Fabulous, held the torch together as they jogged along the King's Road in Chelsea.

BBC News, 26th July 2012

Joanna Lumley interview

Joanna Lumley says "It's all up to Jennifer Saunders if there will be more. If she writes a film, I'll be in it."

Written by Andrew Williams. Metro, 26th July 2012

Absolutely Fabulous Olympics special grabs 5.6 million

Absolutely Fabulous triumphed in last night's (July 23) ratings for its Olympics special, according to the latest overnight data.

Written by Paul Millar. Digital Spy, 24th July 2012

Ab Fab gets gold for worst Olympic Games show

This onslaught of Olympic-related programming won't last. The bad news is it'll be replaced with the real thing.

Written by Stuart Heritage. The Guardian, 24th July 2012

Leaping on the Olympics bandwagon like a botoxed hippo on a trampoline came Absolutely Fabulous, possibly the last ever outing for Eddy and Patsy. It had its moments but it's probably best not to flog this horse too much further. I want to remember Pats at her drop-dead best, not literally dropping dead and leaking when she sneezes. The best bit: Bubble on the beam (well, the back of a settee, actually).

Keith Watson, Metro, 24th July 2012

Absolutely Fabulous built the last of its three specials around Eddy and Patsy's wild excitement about the Olympics. It isn't the sport they're interested in, obviously, but the imminent arrival of Michael Douglas, who has rented Eddy's house and who they see as a passport to A-list Olympic parties. "I shall be wearing my buttocks as a head-dress by the time that man arrives," announced Eddy, who plans a major make-over.

Unfortunately, she's not been paying very close attention to the calendar and doesn't realise she's left it too late, a mistake she feels is forgivable: "It's been everywhere for five bloody years! Excuse me if I missed that it's actually bloody started. It's been like tinnitus." Dames Kelly Holmes and Tanni Grey-Thompson and Stella McCartney offered themselves up as straight-women for Patsy and Eddy's faux pas and there was a brief, slightly baffling visit to the Olympic Stadium, during which both women enjoyed an unconvincing reverie of athletic glory. And then, after quite a few raucous laughs, it just stopped, as if nobody had quite worked out where the finish tape was. But I did enjoy Eddy's protest as she was bundled out of the stadium by a security guard: "You're discouraging me from taking up sport!"

Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent, 24th July 2012

Ab Fab: A tired team running out of ideas

The trick to filling in 30 minutes of airtime with 15 minutes of material seemed to be, quite literally, often saying the same line twice and hoping we wouldn't notice.

Written by Caroline Frost. The Huffington Post, 24th July 2012

Ab Fab Olympic special was no gold medal-winner

The final Absolutely Fabulous special might have been timely, as Edina and Patsy offered their own spin on the Olympics, but the show itself is starting to look as old and tired as its characters.

Written by Caroline Westbrook. Metro, 24th July 2012

Absolutely Fabulous: A unholy mess

This unholy mess was all agonising enough anyway, but seriously suffers in comparison with another Olympic-themed BBC comedy, Twenty Twelve, which airs 24 hours later. That show is prescient, subtle and satirical. This one used a sledgehammer yet still kept missing its target.

Written by Michael Hogan. The Daily Telegraph, 23rd July 2012

Absolutely Fabulous review: Over the line with a bang

Perhaps it's a bit of a tenuous link for Absolutely Fabulous to have an Olympic games special-elite athletics and the world that Edina and Patsy inhabit don't seem particularly well paired-but nevertheless, all things considering, it works surprisingly well. If this does indeed turn out to be the final episode of Absolutely Fabulous, then thankfully it's a good one.

Written by Jack Sharp. On the Box, 23rd July 2012

Ab Fab - going for gold

As Eddy and Patsy take on the Olympics, Ellie Walker-Arnott looks back at her favourite Ab Fab episodes.

Written by Ellie Walker-Arnott. The Radio Times, 23rd July 2012

Jennifer Saunders gave herself an Olympian challenge when she agreed to build an episode of her award-winning sitcom around London 2012.

She's managed it, though, with Absolutely Fabulous: Olympics (BBC1, 9.30pm).

Amid the Bolly, the bitching and the fags, her character Edina rents out her London home to a Hollywood A-lister for the Olympics.

However, no-one has told her that she is supposed to move out, along with her family and assistant Bubble (Jane Horrocks), To make matters worse, Edina's ex-husband and girlfriend turn up to stay for the Games.

There is some sports action - if you count Eddy and the fun-loving Patsy (Joanna Lumley) running
for glory in the Olympic stadium and managing to crash a celebrity reception attended by real-life Paralympics legend Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Mike Ward, The Daily Star, 23rd July 2012

This latest of the specials seems more pantomime-like than ever: socially conscious Saffy is now wandering about in full African dress; the script is full of Olympics references (as are Bubble's surreal, high-concept outfits); and ugly sisters Edina and Patsy (Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley) once again set themselves up for a fall thanks to their desperate desire to party. Even at its cheesiest, though, Ab Fab is always raucous fun, while there are some game appearances from some Olympic heroes past and present.

Metro, 23rd July 2012

This is the third episode of the promised new Ab Fab trio, though whether it's really the final 'final' hurrah remains to be seen. Saffy is back from Africa - in full indigenous dress - while Eddy and Patsy are panicking before the arrival of Michael Douglas. He is supposedly renting out their home during the Olympics, but instead they find themselves entertaining Douglas's sex-addicted golf caddy and his overbearing wife. Saffy's attempts to get the pair excited about the Games fail dismally - until invitations to a party at the main arena come their way. Predictable jokes about the horror of losing both one's edge and skin tone dominate, and Bubble's bewilderingly unfunny character still grates but, as in almost every episode, there's one great visual gag. Here, it's Patsy lighting her fag with the Olympic torch.

Sharon O'Connell, Time Out, 23rd July 2012

Ab Fab's best Olympic jokes

Tonight's new episode of Absolutely Fabulous has an Olympic theme - we preview some of the funniest moments.

Written by Michael Hogan. The Daily Telegraph, 23rd July 2012

Charge your flutes with vodka champagne cocktail, Ab Fab fans! This could be the last-ever episode (although there are rumours of a movie). Certainly, it's the last of three specials, after two at Christmas and New Year, reuniting the bad girls of chichi Holland Park for their 20th anniversary.

Why the long wait? Well, this was always intended as an Olympics-themed edition, with the Games descending abruptly upon Patsy and Eddy's blinkered lives. Eddy could go for gold herself - if there were a category for partying and pratfalls. Sadly, Patsy looks set to be left at the starting line: she's developed, well, let's just say a little issue whenever she sneezes and is in need of a "tightening procedure".

Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley are on top form with the physical comedy and waspish remarks. June Whitfield's Gran is as endearingly batty as ever and tonight gets the final funny line - if not the last laugh. Watch out for cameos by Dames Kelly Holmes and Tanni Grey-Thompson, as well as fashion designer Stella McCartney, for whom Eddy has developed something of a girl crush. It is not reciprocated.

Patrick Mulkern, Radio Times, 23rd July 2012

The Olympics is almost here and Michael Douglas is coming to rent Edina's house for the duration. Stella McCartney may not be taking her calls but Edina's desperately hoping a film star consort will get her into some happening clubs. Patsy's stress incontinence threatens to ruin things and Bubble is dreaming about sporting glory. Good news: Saunders's writing is right back on form. Includes cameos from McCartney, Kelly Holmes and Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Julia Raeside, The Guardian, 22nd July 2012