Absolutely Champers: Everything you need to know about Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders’ new show

The legendary comedy duo are back with a Christmas treat
On the champers: French and Saunders explore the Champagne region
BBC
Aime Grant Cumberbatch21 December 2017

Fans of Absolutely Fabulous will be well aware that Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders’ comedy creations, Patsy Stone and Edina Monsoon, love a good chug on a glass of bubbly. This Christmas, the double act are back with a BBC Two documentary that pays tribute to their beloved beverage…

What will the pair get up to?

Lumley and Saunders are reuniting for a trip across the Champagne region of France to learn all about how the drink is made. It’s a hard life.

The long-time collaborators will not only be venturing to the bottom of many champagne flutes, but will also be sharing "intimate and hilarious" anecdotes from over the years.

Absolutely Fabulous - the iconic looks

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If that all sounds a bit too easy, it’s not quite non-stop boozing: Lumley and Saunders will be making themselves useful. The two of them will visit boutique, family-run vineyards and join seasonal workers to help out with this year’s grape harvest, and learn the all-important life lesson of how to take champagne from grape to glass.

Who are Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders?

Together, they are best known for bringing hedonistic, heavy-drinking, chain-smoking pals Patsy and Edina to life in Absolutely Fabulous. The sitcom, which is also lovingly referred to as Ab Fab, ran for two decades from 1992-2012 and both actresses won numerous BAFTAs for their portrayals of two high-powered career women working in the British fashion industry.

Ab Fab aside, Joanna Lumley has had a prolific film and television career, having appeared in The Wolf of Wall Street, James and the Giant Peach, Sensitive Skin and Jam & Jerusalem, to name a few.

Saunders, meanwhile, makes up one half of comedy duo French and Saunders with Dawn French and has also done lots of voice work, including for the movies Shrek 2 and Minions.

What time is Joanna and Jennifer: Absolutely Champers on TV?

The one-off, hour-long documentary will air on Thursday, December 21 at 9pm on BBC Two.

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