The first series of the British television sitcom ''

Absolutely Fabulous ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saund ...

'' premiered on BBC Two on 12 November 1992 and concluded on 17 December 1992, consisting of six episodes. The sitcom was created and written by

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of ...

, who starred in the title role of Edina Monsoon, a heavy-drinking, smoking, and drug-abusing PR agent who has dedicated most of her life to looking "fabulous" and desperately attempts to stay young. Edina is nicknamed 'Eddie' by her best friend,

Patsy Stone Patsy Stone is one of the two main characters from the British television sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'', portrayed by actress Joanna Lumley. Background Patsy was the last of a string of children born to an aging Bohemian mother in Paris, who g ...

(

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...

), a magazine editor who constantly takes advantage of Edina by living the life of luxury in Edina's extravagant home. Edina is a twice-divorced mother of two. Her eldest child, a son, Serge, left home many years before in order to escape his mother's clutches. Her long-suffering daughter, Saffron 'Saffy', whom Edina is reliant upon, is a

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

student and remains at home. The series also includes Edina's sweet-natured-but-slightly-batty mother (

June Whitfield Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress. Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy '' Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...

), whom Edina sees as an interfering burden, and Edina's dim-witted assistant Bubble (

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in th ...

). The series was conceived from the ''

French and Saunders ''French and Saunders'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is a ...

'' sketch "

Modern Mother and Daughter "Modern Mother and Daughter" is a sketch from the third series of ''French and Saunders'', written by and starring Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The sketch later served as the basis of Saunders' sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' in 1992. Plo ...

", originally written by Saunders and Dawn French. Saunders has stated that the character of Edina Monsoon was based upon

Lynne Franks Lynne Joanne Franks (born 16 April 1948) founded a public relations consultancy in the early 1970s and is a communications strategist, writer and spokeswoman on women's issues, sustainability and consumer lifestyles. Early life Franks was ...

, a PR agent whom she had joined on holiday.

Cast and characters

Main

as Edina Monsoon *

Julia Sawalha Julia Sawalha (born 9 September 1968) is an English actress who played Saffron "Saffy" Monsoon in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She is also known for her portrayal of Lynda Day, editor of the ''Junior Gazette'', in ''Press Gang'', as ...

as Saffron Monsoon *

as Bubble

Special guest

as Mother

Recurring

Christopher Malcolm Christopher Malcolm (19 August 1946 – 15 February 2014) was a Scottish actor and theatrical producer. He first achieved notoriety for his role as Brad Majors in the original stage production of ''The Rocky Horror Show''. Early life and edu ...

as Justin

Guest

Nickolas Grace Nickolas Andrew Halliwell Grace (born 21 November 1947) is an English actor known for his roles on television, including Anthony Blanche in the acclaimed ITV adaptation of ''Brideshead Revisited'', and the Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1980s seri ...

as Jonny * Lucy Blair as Lou-Lou (uncredited) *

Alexandra Bastedo Alexandra Lendon Bastedo (9 March 1946 – 12 January 2014) was a British actress, best known for her role as secret agent Sharron Macready in the 1968 British espionage/science fiction adventure series ''The Champions''. Bastedo was a vegetar ...

as Penny Caspar-Morse *

Anthony Asbury Anthony Asbury (born September 14, 1959) is an American actor and puppeteer. He has been working as a puppeteer for over three decades. Career Asbury, a native of Arlington, Texas, began his career as a puppeteer on the ITV satire show Spitting ...

as Georgy * Russell Kilmister as surgeon *

Geoffrey McGivern Geoffrey M. McGivern is a British actor in film, radio, stage and television, as well as a comedian. Career He played Ford Prefect in the radio series (1978–80) and subsequent LP releases of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Dougla ...

as customs officer *

Juliette Mole Juliette Mole (born 1955) is an English actress and artist, now based in London. She is married to the actor Lloyd Owen. Early life She began her career with the Royal Shakespeare Company and later appeared on television and in film. Career Mo ...

as air hostess * Robert Ripa as old Frenchman *

Tim Woodward Timothy Oliver Woodward (born 24 April 1953) is an English actor. Tim Woodward was born in Kensington, London, England, the son of actors Edward Woodward and Venetia Barrett. He was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College. He is pr ...

as headmaster *

Naoko Mori (born 29 November 1971) is a Japanese actress based in the United Kingdom. She is known for her roles as Toshiko Sato in ''Doctor Who'' and ''Torchwood'', Yasuko Namba in ''Everest'', Sarah in ''Absolutely Fabulous'' and Nicola in '' Spice Wor ...

as Sarah * Lisa Coleman as Joanna * Adrian Ross-Magenty as James *

James Lance James Frederick Grenville Lance (born 29 September 1974) is an English actor, best known for his appearances in a number of British comedy series and the British-American comedy series '' Ted Lasso'' for which he was nominated for a Primetime ...

as Daniel * Paul Mark Elliot as teacher * Sidney Cole as teacher * Annabelle Hampson as headmistress * Melanie Jessop as secretary * Trisha Aileen as school secretary *

Mo Gaffney Maureen E. Gaffney (born November 5, 1958, in San Diego, California) is an American actress and activist. Career Gaffney hosted two of her own television talk shows: ''Women Aloud!'' (which was shown on the Comedy Central network) and ''The Mo ...

as Bo *

Christopher Ryan Christopher Ryan (born Christopher Papazoglou; 25 January 1950) is a British actor best known for his roles as Mike TheCoolPerson in the BBC comedy series '' The Young Ones'', Dave Hedgehog in the BBC comedy series ''Bottom'', Tony Driscoll in t ...

as Marshall *

Gary Beadle Gary Beadle (born 8 July 1965) is a British actor, best known for playing Paul Trueman in '' EastEnders'' and Gary Barwick in ''Operation Good Guys''. Life and career Beadle was raised as one of five children in Bermondsey, South London, wh ...

as Oliver *

Kathy Burke Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke (born 13 June 1964) is an English actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director. She achieved fame with her appearances on sketch shows such as ''French and Saunders'' (1988–1999) and her recurring role as Mag ...

as Magda *

Harriet Thorpe Harriet Amelia Thorpe (born 8 June 1957) is an English actress. Thorpe trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. She is known for her roles in the British sitcoms, '' The Brittas Empire'' (1991–97) and '' Absolutely Fabulous'' ...

as Fleur *

Helen Lederer Helen Margaret Lederer (born 24 September 1954) is an English comedian, writer and actress who emerged as part of the alternative comedy boom at the beginning of the 1980s. Among her television credits are the BBC2 sketch series ''Naked Video'' ...

as Catriona *

Eleanor Bron Eleanor Bron (born 14 March 1938) is an English stage, film and television actress, and an author. Her film roles include Ahme in the Beatles musical ''Help!'' (1965), the Doctor in '' Alfie'' (1966), Margaret Spencer in '' Bedazzled'' (1967), a ...

as Patsy's mother *

Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. He was part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s and had roles in the television series '' The Young Ones'' (1 ...

as Hamish * Dawn French as Kathy

Episodes

Accolades

Release

Reception

Tim Gray of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine said that "''Absolutely Fabulous'', British sitcom about a rich, self-absorbed, falling-down-drunk woman, is not as funny as it intends to be, but it is absolutely unique, absolutely rude and absolutely politically incorrect". He also said that "''AbFab'' offers no sense of justice, which may give viewers the heebie-jeebies, since Americans like to believe that the wicked, even if they are amusing, will get punished. But the characters are originals, and ''AbFab'' has the courage of its convictions, encouraging audiences to find humor in such recent comedic taboos as substance abuse or mistreated offspring." In 1997, ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' ranked an episode number 47 on its list of the " 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time.

Home media

VHS The first series of ''Absolutely Fabulous'' was released on VHS in the United Kingdom in two volumes; both of which containing three episodes per tape. These VHS tapes were released on 4 October 1993. The Complete Series 1 was released on VHS on 3 July 1995. The Complete Series 1 was again released as part of the Series 1-4 set and as an individual release on 25 November 2002. DVD Series 1 was made available in the United Kingdom on DVD format region 2 on 20 November 2000, and again as part of the Series 1-4 DVD set on 25 November 2002, The "Absolutely Everything" set (Series 1-5 & specials) on 15 November 2010, and most recently on the "Absolutely Everything: Definitive Edition" set (Series 1-5, specials & 20th Anniversary Specials) on 17 March 2014. In North America, Series 1 was released several times on DVD region 1. It was initially released on 13 March 2001, with a re-issue on 13 September 2005. All subsequent releases following the initial release of Series 1 (apart from the re-issue) was released as part of DVD sets, with Series 1-3 released on 4 October 2005 and "Absolutely Everything" released on 28 May 2008. In Australia, the first series debuted on DVD Region 4 on 3 October 2001. Australia was the first country to release "Absolutely Everything", although, not every episode was released within the set; it includes series 1-5 and the specials, excluding 'The Last Shout'. This set was released on 20 April 2006. "The Complete Collection" (every episode including 'The Last Shout') was made available on 5 April 2011.

Notes

References

External links

''Absolutely Fabulous'' series 1
– list of episodes on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Absolutely Fabulous Series 1 1992 British television seasons

Series 1 The IBM Series/1 is a 16-bit minicomputer, introduced in 1976, that in many respects competed with other minicomputers of the time, such as the PDP-11 from Digital Equipment Corporation and similar offerings from Data General and HP. The Seri ...