The Gamblers

Is Absolutely Fabulous: the Movie a sure bet?

e’ve been asked for years,” says Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley, “when are you going to do a film?”

since ending its initial run on bbc One in 1995, Jennifer saunders’ much-garlanded sitcom has had more comebacks than a Frankie boyle gig. a two-part special, The Last Shout, followed relatively quickly in 1996, there were two more series five years later, as well as three more specials including a Comic Relief skit, then a six-year break, and finally four more specials for the show’s 20th anniversary in 2012. after that, a film seemed the next logical step, but it only happened when saunders — who created the show, wrote it and starred in it as PR from hell edina ‘eddie’ Monsoon — announced in 2014 she was writing it. and now Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie is almost here.

“a lot of people were making films out of Tv shows,” says saunders, presumably referring to Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa and the Inbetweeners movies. “so it seemed possible. and it was actually interesting, because I’d never written a plot before. In a film, something has to happen over 90 minutes. You have to build a plot and all that other stuff. It’s very difficult!”

That plot sees eddie and her cohort, Lumley’s futzed-up fashionista Patsy, on the run in France following a mishap involving kate Moss. but the excitement here will surely stem from the cavalcade of cameos (Jon Hamm! Cara delevingne! Graham norton!), and seeing eddie and Patsy, as unapologetically debauched as ever, older but by no means wiser. also, if all goes well, the question posed to Lumley and saunders might become, “When are you going to do a sequel?”

“The truth is, we can go on being Patsy and eddie for as long as we need to,” says Lumley. “We could do Ladies In The Van!” laughs saunders. “I could live in the house with Patsy living in the van, just asking to come in to use the toilet.” sold. OLLY RICHARDS

Absolutely Fabulous: the Movie is out