Editing Absolutely Fabulous (section)

===Development===
''Absolutely Fabulous'' evolved from a ''[[French and Saunders]]'' sketch called "[[Modern Mother and Daughter]]" (from [[French and Saunders#Series 3 - 1990|series 3]] episode 6), which starred Saunders as the mother, named Adrianna, and French as the daughter, named Saffron (as in the series). The sketch revolved around a middle-aged single mother who acted like a teenager and was reliant upon the emotional and financial support of her teenage daughter, who behaved like a middle-aged woman.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Thorp|first=Clare|date=8 June 2016|title=Seven facts you never knew about Absolutely Fabulous|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/absolutely-fabulous/seven-facts-only-superfans-know/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/absolutely-fabulous/seven-facts-only-superfans-know/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=26 Feb 2021|website=The Telegraph|ref=seven facts}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

It has no connection, other than the character's name, to the earlier film, ''Eddie Monsoon: A Life?'', a comedy play written by Saunders' husband [[Adrian Edmondson]] in 1984 for the TV series, ''[[The Comic Strip|The Comic Strip Presents...]]''. The name "Edina Monsoon" is derived from Edmondson's name and "Eddy Monsoon" is a nickname of his.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=15 Fabulous facts about Absolutely Fabulous|url=https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/culture/film-tv/15-fabulous-facts-about-absolutely-fabulous|access-date=26 Feb 2021|website=Reader's Digest}}</ref>
[[File:Absolutely Fabulous Cast.jpg|thumb|right|300px| The main cast, from left to right: [[Jane Horrocks]], [[Julia Sawalha]], [[Jennifer Saunders]], [[June Whitfield]] and [[Joanna Lumley]]]]
Saunders revealed in 2012 that she was inspired by pop band [[Bananarama]], with whom she and [[Dawn French]] had become friends after their [[Comic Relief]] collaboration in 1989.<ref name=":0" />

"The nights with Bananarama were some of the best nights of my life, and I got a lot of gags from Bananarama because they were big vodka drinkers...when I started doing AbFab, I remembered all of the falls that I saw Bananarama do. I once saw one of them coming out of a cab bottom first and hitting the road, and I thought 'that's class'".<ref name=":0" /><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00xsvzv 'Caitlin Moran talks to Jennifer Saunders'], ''[[Chain Reaction (radio)|Chain Reaction]]'', Series 8 Episode 6. [[BBC Radio 4]], 31 August 2012</ref>

Although ''Ab Fab'' was produced by Saunders and French's company, Saunders & French Productions, Dawn French appeared on the show only once, in a cameo in the first-series episode "Magazine", before making a brief cameo in the 2016 film. French was originally intended to play Edina's daughter, Saffron, but a younger actress (Sawalha) was ultimately cast.<ref name=":1" />

The first three series were broadcast on the [[BBC]] from 1992 to 1995, followed by a [[series finale]] in the form of a two-part television film entitled ''The Last Shout'' in 1996. Saunders revived the show for a fourth series in 2001 after writing and submitting a pilot entitled ''Mirrorball'', which recruited nearly all of the original cast in new roles. The pilot was intended to be turned into a series of episodes. However, Saunders felt the AbFab characters were too rich and interesting to put aside and were far better suited for her new story ideas. Instead of ''Mirrorball'', a new series of ''Absolutely Fabulous'' was proposed to the BBC, which later commissioned the fourth series in 2001. From 2001 to 2004, two series were produced, along with two one-off hour-long specials; ''Gay'' (retitled and issued as ''Absolutely Fabulous in New York'' for the United States) in 2002 and ''White Box'' (another series finale), which aired in 2004. A [[Comic Relief#2005 event|Comic Relief]] sketch was broadcast in 2005.

In November 2010, Lumley revealed to ''[[Playbill]]'' magazine that she had recently spoken to Saunders about possibly filming a new series.<ref name="dspy"/> Lumley and Saunders reunited for the [[Marks & Spencer|M&S]] Christmas advert in 2009, along with other stars such as [[Twiggy]] and [[Stephen Fry]].
In August 2011, Lumley confirmed the planned filming of three new episodes.<ref name=dspy>{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a315615/absolutely-fabulous-to-return-says-joanna-lumley.html |title='Absolutely Fabulous' to return, says Joanna Lumley |author=Catriona Wightman |date=20 April 2011 |work=[[Digital Spy]] |access-date=12 September 2011}}</ref> In 2011, plans for a 20th-anniversary revival were welcomed in ''The Guardian'', which applauded the show as "prophetic".<ref>{{cite news|last=Flynn|first=Paul|title=Why Absolutely Fabulous now looks absolutely prescient|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/aug/29/absolutely-fabulous-prescient-ab-fab|access-date=5 September 2011|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=29 August 2011}}</ref> The first new special of ''[[Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary]]'' was broadcast on 25 December with the second episode being shown on 1 January 2012. The third and final special, aired on 23 July 2012, coincided with the [[2012 Summer Olympics]]<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2012/30/absolutely-fabulous.html "Absolutely Fabulous: Olympics"] BBC Media Centre. Undated.</ref> in London, with [[Stella McCartney]] appearing in a [[Cameo appearance|cameo]] role. A sketch for [[Sport Relief 2012#Sketches|Sport Relief]] was also broadcast in 2012. A film version of the series, ''[[Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie]],'' was released to theatres in the summer of 2016.<ref>[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a357639/jennifer-saunders-definitely-doing-absolutely-fabulous-movie.html "Jennifer Saunders 'definitely doing' Absolutely Fabulous movie"] 29 December 2011, Digital Spy</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG8925273/Stella-McCartney-to-star-in-Absolutely-Fabulous.html|title=Stella McCartney to star in Absolutely Fabulous}}</ref>

Three new specials were announced to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary, with the first special, "Identity", airing on 25 December 2011. [[Jon Plowman]], executive producer and original producer of the series, said: "Viewers have been fantastically loyal in their devotion to our show, so we're really thrilled to say that it's coming back for three new shows to celebrate our 20th anniversary. All of the originals who are back together again are still truly absolutely fabulous and the new adventures of Edina, Patsy, Saffy, Bubble and Mother, plus a few surprising guests, will be a real treat for viewers." Saunders announced in November 2011 that she had begun work on a film version of the series.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8872803/Jennifer-Saunders-my-fight-against-breast-cancer.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107061709/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8872803/Jennifer-Saunders-my-fight-against-breast-cancer.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=7 November 2011 | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Richard | last=Alleyne | title=Jennifer Saunders: my fight against breast cancer | date=6 November 2011}}</ref>

In the United States, the episodes were jointly co-produced by Logo and BBC America in the US.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newnownext.com/logo-to-co-produce-three-new-absolutely-fabulous-specials/08/2011/ |title=Logo to Co-Produce Three New "Absolutely Fabulous" Specials |date=29 August 2011 |work=NewNowNext |access-date=12 September 2011}}</ref> and aired in January 2012 for broadcast by both BBC America and Logo Channel. Both channels co-produced the 20th Anniversary episodes, although Logo removed some scenes for its airings. BBC America broadcast it in full. Both channels aired the episode in a 40-minute block to allow for commercial interruptions.

On 3 January 2012, following the success of the 20th anniversary specials, it was rumoured that Saunders was set to write another Christmas special for 2012. The BBC was rumoured to be urging her to write a sixth series for 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-24024783-bbc-bosses-want-new-series-of-ab-fab-for-2013.do |title=BBC bosses want new series of Ab Fab for 2013 |date=3 January 2012 |work=London Evening Standard |access-date=3 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108160528/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-24024783-bbc-bosses-want-new-series-of-ab-fab-for-2013.do |archive-date= 8 January 2012 }}</ref> Saunders denied the reports of additional episodes via her Twitter account.

Episodes of ''Absolutely Fabulous'' were shot in front of a live studio audience.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Abfab Guide|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/abfab/guide/l/|access-date=10 Mar 2021|website=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Gilbert|first=Gerard|title=Absolutely Fabulous: Why this dated duo are out of the running|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/absolutely-fabulous-why-dated-duo-are-out-running-7953410.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119155338/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/absolutely-fabulous-why-dated-duo-are-out-running-7953410.html |archive-date=2020-11-19 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|access-date=10 Mar 2021|website=The Independent|date=19 July 2012}}</ref>