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Jennifer Saunders Says ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ Probably Wouldn’t Be Made Today, Dismisses Possibility Of A Kim Kardashian Cameo

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 07:16 PST, Aug 7, 2016

Jennifer Saunders recently opened up about the TV sitcom she once starred in, Absolutely Fabulous. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Jennifer Saunders believes that the show would not have been made if it had been pitched to the BBC today.

The Absolutely Fabulous movie just hit theaters last month, and the creator of the show recalled memorable moments that led up to its creation.

Jennifer Saunders spoke on the creation of Absolutely Fabulous, saying that she loved the freedom that they had back in the day. Saying that she thought the characters were, well, “fabulous,” she admitted that she liked seeing how far she could push the character and where she could take them, without anyone reining her in or telling her to stop.

She theorized that, if the same idea were pitched to the BBC today, she doubts it would be picked up, saying that the network is much more prescriptive and “executive-led” nowadays.

“They used to just curate talent, the BBC, and now they prescribe what they want.”

The show sprang out of a sketch that Saunders and her long-time collaborator and friend, Dawn French, made back in 1990. The series featured on the BBC from 1992 to 1996, and was later revived in the early 2000s.

When Saunders and French first wrote the sketch, they were immediately aware that they had created something different, and noted that it seemed to take on a life of its own, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Jennifer Saunders spoke on the evolution of Absolutely Fabulous from a sketch to a sitcom, saying that it was a long sketch that “wasn’t too sketchy” and seemed to have a life of its own.

Shortly after the sketch was created, a pilot episode for Absolutely Fabulous was commissioned. Interestingly, the first episode of the show was written in pencil by Jennifer Saunders in an exercise book. When it first aired on TV, Saunders’ show became a hit. In the show, Jennifer Saunders plays the role of the main character, Edina Monsoon, and the actress says that she wrote her character realistically, based on some of the characteristics of a real life London-based public relations professional by the name of Lynne Franks.

Absolutely Fabulous‘ appeal comes from the universally-understood idea of the complex relationship between a mom and a daughter. Moments between Jennifer Saunders’ onscreen character and her daughter take the show to a deeper and more personal level. In fact, Jennifer Saunders revealed that one of her favorite episodes relies heavily on the mother-daughter dynamic.

Jennifer Saunders spoke on one of her favorite episodes from the show.

“One of my favorite episodes ever was when Saffy wrote the play [about her childhood] and Edina was suddenly, actually forced to look into a mirror. She never looks in a mirror. I loved that moment.”

According to the Daily Mail, Jennifer Saunders made it clear that Kim Kardashian will not be appearing in the sequel to Absolutely Fabulous, despite rumors to the contrary.

The rumors of Kardashian appearing in the film were dispelled by Saunders herself, and now she is dismissing any possibility that the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star will be in the sequel at all.

At the Australian premiere of the film in Melbourne, Jennifer Saunders said that she would not even consider Kardashian for a cameo role in a possible sequel film. The actress and her co-star, Joanna Lumley, admitted that neither of them has ever seen an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, saying that they don’t know much about the famous family was featured in the show.

[Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP Images]

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