Absolutely Fabulous. Image shows from L to R: Bubble (Jane Horrocks), Saffron (Julia Sawalha), Edina (Jennifer Saunders), Mother (June Whitfield), Patsy (Joanna Lumley). Copyright: Saunders And French Productions / BBC
Absolutely Fabulous

Absolutely Fabulous

  • TV sitcom
  • BBC One / BBC Two
  • 1992 - 2012
  • 39 episodes (5 series)

Public relations maven Edina and best friend Patsy drive sensible daughter Saffron up the wall with their self-absorbed, substance-abusing escapades. Stars Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks

  • JustWatch Streaming rank this week: 743

Episode menu

White Box

Having broken a promise to Saffy, Eddy's had the entire kitchen stripped back to bare white walls. Her daughter is not pleased, and orders that a normal room be restored immediately. Edina's sure she's seen the perfect room to model it on, but she cannot recall where...

Further details

Saffy is departing for Africa with Jane to marry John, Jane's father. Upon discovering that her mother will not be joining her, she makes Eddy promise not to carry out any renovations to the house, as she wants Jane to recognise her surroundings when they return.

After Saffron leaves, Edina and Patsy start to party, but Patsy collapses and needs to go to hopital. In her absence, Edina hires designers Bettina and Max, former friends whose marriage has since deteriorated. Max is now gay and Bettina is insane - and on day release from Broadmoor.

The pair gut the entire basement, reducing the former kitchen to a bare white box, but are unable to complete the assignment as Bettina has a further breakdown.

Patsy returns from hopital, with only half of her operation completed, and Saffron returns from Africa, furious at the state of the house. It appears that the wedding did not go as planned - Saffron was one of several wives marrying John and will only see him every few months.

When Saffy orders Edina to finish the renovations immediately, Edina goes to the Terence Conran shop, where Conran himself cannot help her. She then visits eccentric interior designer Kunz, flanked by his assistant Yoko, and is equally unable to find inspiration or define her vision for the kitchen.

However, Kunz suggests that Eddy may have seen the ideal living space she craves in a past life. She summons nutty regression therapist to the stars, Crystalline, but it is Patsy who manages to fall into a previous existence, not Edina.

Saffy returns to find her mother indulging in this new age nonsense rather than getting the renovation job done, and a conflict breaks out between the two. During the argument, Jane grabs Edina's hand and Edina flicks her off, striking the toddler in the process.

Seeing her child subjected to the kind of physical torment that she suffered emotionally, Saffron snaps and orders Edina and Patsy out of the house - it turns out that the property is legally in her name. Edina fires back that she is glad to go but Patsy, in spite of an impassioned speech from Edina about the nature of a 'home', refuses to leave. Unimpressed, Saffron floors Patsy and hurls her out of the door. Edina reluctantly follows and turns to say one last thing to Saffy, but she slams the door in her face.

Later, Gran has renovated the downstairs area in an English cottage style that Saffron accepts, even though the curtains have been fixed in place by staples. Gran hands Saffron an envelope. Saffy accepts it warmly, thinking it is a card, but Gran tells her that it is a bill for the renovations. With the emotionally distant Gran gone and with only her infant child for company, Saffron finds that she is alone.

Meanwhile, Edina and Patsy are unpacking glasses and drinking chamapgne in plush, ultra hip new digs. They sit down and look out of a large window, deciding not to get curtains. As we pull back from the duo, it becomes apparent that the wayward friends have in fact merely moved into the Terence Conran Shop.

Notes

Also known as Decoratin'.

Broadcast details

Date
Saturday 25th December 2004
Time
10:30pm
Channel
BBC One
Length
45 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Wednesday 4th December 2013 9:00pm Gold
Thursday 5th December 2013 12:15am Gold
Thursday 5th June 2014 1:15am Gold
Friday 7th November 2014 1:30am Gold
Friday 7th November 2014 3:15am Gold
Wednesday 19th November 2014 1:20am Gold
Wednesday 19th November 2014 3:15am Gold
Tuesday 9th December 2014 10:55pm Gold
Wednesday 10th December 2014 1:15am Gold
Tuesday 15th December 2015 10:35pm Gold
Wednesday 16th December 2015 2:20am Gold
Friday 19th February 2016 10:00pm Gold
Thursday 31st March 2016 2:25am Gold
Friday 8th July 2016 10:00pm Gold
Tuesday 22nd November 2016 9:15pm Gold
Monday 1st May 2017 9:00pm Gold
Monday 4th December 2017 11:00pm Gold
Tuesday 5th December 2017 2:20am Gold
Thursday 21st December 2017 11:40pm Gold
Saturday 23rd December 2017 10:10pm W
Sunday 24th December 2017 2:05am Gold
Monday 25th December 2017 12:30am Gold
Monday 3rd December 2018 1:40am Gold
Monday 3rd December 2018 11:35pm Gold
Saturday 15th December 2018 11:45pm Gold
Sunday 16th December 2018 11:25pm Gold
Friday 6th December 2019 12:50am Gold
Friday 13th December 2019 12:55am Gold
Sunday 15th December 2019 1:05am Gold
Thursday 19th December 2019 1:55am Gold
Friday 20th December 2019 12:25am Gold

Cast & crew

Cast
Jennifer Saunders Edina
Joanna Lumley Patsy
Julia Sawalha Saffron
June Whitfield Mother
Jane Horrocks Bubble
Guest cast
Mo Gaffney Bo (Marshall's Wife)
Christopher Ryan Marshall (Edina's Ex-husband)
Miranda Richardson Bettina
Patrick Barlow Max
Nathan Lane Kunz
Laurie Metcalf Crystalline
Miranda Hart Yoko
Terence Conran (as Sir Terence Conran) Self
Writing team
Jennifer Saunders Writer
Ruby Wax Script Editor
Production team
Ed Bye Director
Jo Sargent Producer
Jon Plowman Executive Producer
Mark Wybourn Editor
Harry Banks Production Designer
Simon Brint Composer

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