Absolutely Fabulous creator Jon Plowman has opened up on the difficulties when it comes to producing comedy shows and why channel controllers avoid commissioning them.
Despite its popularity, the comedy show came to an end in 2004 and saw stars such as Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, Jane Horrocks, and Ruby Wax.
Now, Gold is revisiting the best bits of the show with the creators, stars, celebrity fans and many more – for the documentary Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out.
With the upcoming documentary coming out, Plowman opened up on some of the difficulties he faced when making the show.
He told RadioTimes: “Comedy is more expensive than the average drama –. It costs broadly the same as an hour of drama but it’s usually only half an hour. There’s more risk.”
“Comedy needs a decent-sized audience. That’s difficult in an age of on-demand viewing with so many streaming services.”
Absolutely Fabulous first began in 1992 and came to an end in 2004
BBC
“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 a discussion about whether political correctness is killing comedy. That argument is often made by comics who aren’t funny, blaming PC.”
With no prospect of the show ever returning, Sauders and Lumley recently sat down and reflected on 32 years of the show.
Saunders admitted at the time there were no great expectations and some executives on the show just weren’t impressed with women being drunk – except those watching.
Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley are reuniting for a Absolutely Fabulous special
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Lumley added that when she first read the script, she was “bowled over” but how funny she thought it was – providing a canvas for comedy.
Absolutely Fabulous follows Edina Monsoon, played by Saunders, who is an alcoholic and drug-abusing PR mogul and her best friend Patsy, Saunders, as they spend their time in a haze of inebriated selfishness.
The show is credited for having a ground-breaking influence on female comedy by breaking the mould of roles for women.
In the new BBC documentary, Plowman reveals: “We do the pilot and I see Robin Nash, Who was the then head of comedy and I said, ‘What do you think?’
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Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley will be joined by an array of guests
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“But we did it in the evening. The audience was wonderful and my most binding memory was at the end of it I saw Ben Elton [comedian] and he said, ‘Well, I’ve seen the future of comedy and it’s that’.”
Absolutely Fabulous ran for five successful seasons from 1992 to 2004 and one film, boasting a hoard of A-list guest stars including Tom Holland, Emma Bunton and Rosie Huntington Whitley.