Editing Jennifer Saunders (section)

====1980s and 1990s====
The comedy group appeared on [[Channel 4]]'s first night on air, in the first episode of ''[[The Comic Strip#The Comic Strip Presents...|The Comic Strip Presents]]: Five Go Mad In Dorset'', broadcast on 2 November 1982.<ref name="screenonline"/><ref>Neil Wilkes. [https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a25747/comic-strip-returns-to-channel-4/ "'Comic Strip' returns to Channel 4"], Digital Spy; retrieved 15 November 2021.</ref> In the episodes "[[Bad News (band)|Bad News]]" and "More Bad News", Saunders plays a trashy rock journalist touring with the fictional [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] band, Bad News.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b74769a5d|title=More Bad News (1988)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109082623/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b74769a5d |access-date=29 December 2023|archive-date=9 November 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0544862/|title="The Comic Strip Presents" Bad News Tour (TV Episode 1983) ⭐ 8.1 &#124; Comedy|access-date=29 December 2023|website=IMDb.com}}</ref>

In 1985, Saunders starred in and co-wrote ''[[Girls on Top (British TV series)|Girls on Top]]'' with French, [[Tracey Ullman]], and [[Ruby Wax]], which portrayed four eccentric women sharing a flat in London.<ref name="screenonline"/> Saunders also appeared in [[Ben Elton]]'s ''[[Happy Families (1985 TV series)|Happy Families]]'' where she played various members of the same family, including all four Fuddle sisters in the six-episode BBC [[situation comedy]]. Saunders starred in a Comic Strip film called ''The Supergrass'', a parody of slick 1980s police dramas, directed by Peter Richardson. Saunders played [[Meryl Streep]] playing [[Arthur Scargill]]'s wife in ''Strike'', a Comic Strip spoof on the [[1984 miners' strike]]. She appeared twice as a guest on ''[[The Young Ones (TV series)|The Young Ones]]''.<ref name="screenonline"/>

In 1987, she and French created ''[[French and Saunders]]'', a popular [[sketch comedy]] series for the [[BBC]] which sporadically aired until 2007, often with long gaps between series.<ref name="Dawnscreenonline">Editors at Screen Online. [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/499480/index.html Dawn French"], screenonline.org.uk; retrieved 10 May 2007.</ref> Saunders also appeared in [[Amnesty International]]'s ''[[The Secret Policeman's Ball|The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball]]'' live benefit in 1989, along with Dawn French and others.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

Saunders and French followed separate careers as well as irregularly maintaining their comedy sketch show. Saunders' biggest solo success has been ''[[Absolutely Fabulous]]'', based largely on a 14-minute ''French & Saunders'' sketch called "Modern Mother and Daughter". Saunders and French were going to star together, but, just as the studio had been booked, French received a long-awaited phone call confirming an adoption agency had a baby for her to adopt.<ref name="farewell"/>

Saunders proceeded to star in the comedy. The series, which she wrote and starred in as the irresponsible fashion [[Public relations|PR]] agent [[Absolutely Fabulous#Eddy|Edina Monsoon]] alongside [[Joanna Lumley]], who played [[Patsy Stone]], brought her international acclaim and attention.<ref name="screenonline"/> The show ran for five full series, two telemovies, three special episodes, and a feature film over the course of 24 years from 1992 to 2016.<ref name="screenonline"/> The series is also known as ''Ab Fab''<ref name="looking"/> and was broadcast in the United States on [[Comedy Central]] and [[BBC America]], becoming cult viewing.<ref>James Welsh.[https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a7694/ab-fab-stars-receive-glbt-pride-award/ "'Ab Fab' stars receive GLBT Pride award"], Digital Spy; retrieved 15 November 2021.</ref>

Saunders has appeared on the American [[sitcom]]s ''[[Roseanne]]'', playing Edina Monsoon in the episode "[[List of Roseanne episodes|Satan, Darling]]", and ''[[Friends]]'' as Andrea Waltham, the step-mother of [[Ross Geller#Emily Waltham|Emily]], [[Ross Geller]]'s fiancée, in the episodes "[[The One After Ross Says Rachel]]" and "[[The One with Ross's Wedding]]". Although they share no scenes, Jennifer's Absolutely Fabulous co-star [[June Whitfield]] also appeared in ''The One With Ross's Wedding Part Two'' as the Walthams' housekeeper. In 1999, she appeared alongside French in ''[[Let Them Eat Cake (TV series)|Let Them Eat Cake]]''.<ref name="screenonline"/>