Jennifer Saunders has awarded fans of 'Absolutely Fabulous' an early Christmas present. The hit show will return for a new series in 2001.
Saunders made up her mind to revive the show after making the Spring pilot episode of 'Mirrorball', itself to be shown on 22 December. She explained, "We had such a great time making 'Mirrorball' that we all wanted to work together again.
"But when I sat down to write the new characters I felt Edina and Patsy and all the other 'Ab Fab' characters vying for my attention. So in the end I gave in."
The world of PR terrorist Edina Monsoon and her gaunt companion will have moved on since 1996's 'The Last Shout'. In the new series Edina is sandwiched between the upwardly mobile worlds of her daughter Saffron, who has found success as an actress, and her mother (June Whitfield), who has found a job and a new man.
Patsy (Joanna Lumley) has inherited the PR mantle and is finding its hide tough to scratch, even with her claws.
These changes are the result of a meld between 'Mirrorball' and the 'Ab Fab' we know. The series already share a common cast, including Jane Horrocks, who brings her Icelandic waitress, Yitta Hilberstam, to the updated show to displace dippy PA Bubble.
Saunders, currently touring Britain with Dawn French, continued: "I'm looking forward to moving the characters into the new millennium, and adding a few new ones."