Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders have revealed the one sketch they “shouldn't have done” on their comedy show.
The pair sent millions into hysteria with their BBC sketch series, in which they satirized a wide range of topics from films to plastic surgery.
But in a documentary for the BBC series Imagine…, the duo admitted they both regretted a 1988 sketch in which they dressed up as sickly Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.
The duo added that they were “very happy” to have performed much of their comedy work in the 1980s and 90s as they were “now cancelled”.
Jennifer told Alan Yentob: “I think as far as humor goes we're still the same, we still see things on TV and wish we were 30 years younger.”
Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders have revealed the one sketch they “shouldn't have done” on their comedy show.
In a documentary for the BBC series Imagine…, the duo admitted they both regretted a 1988 sketch in which they dressed up as sickly Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers
In the sketch, Dawn dresses up as an aging Ginger and is wheeled onto the stage in a chair for an “event” honoring Hollywood legend Fred Astaire
Dawn added: “These days it would be hard to know how to mock something, for the very simple reason that if everything was nervous you would be canceled now.”
“You know, everyone's scared now.” I'm very glad we made our comedy in the time we did.
“We weren't particularly nervous, but we weren't afraid of anything.”
“You know, any philosophy I would have tried, any person I would have easily tried, partly because it doesn't have to do with hate, partly because, I hope, there's no poison in it.
“But there’s stinging going on, you know, that’s the whole point. That's what comedians are for.'
Jennifer added that there are “a lot more filters to overcome” and she's “sure” they've offended viewers at some point.
“I looked back and thought, 'mmmm,'” she added, before noting the 1988 sketch from her French and Saunders show.
In the sketch, Dawn dresses up as an aging Ginger and is wheeled onto the stage in a chair for an “event” honoring Hollywood legend Fred Astaire.
Jennifer takes to the podium as the older Katherine Hepburn, with the Mamma Mia star explaining that she played the role as if she had “Parkinson's.”
Jennifer takes the podium as the older Katherine, with the Mamma Mia star explaining that she played the role as if she had “Parkinson's”.
She added: “We did a sketch where she had Parkinson's and I think we shouldn't have done that.”
In the documentary, Dawn also revealed that she quit her sketch show with her comedy partner Jennifer after a sketch “humiliated” her.
The actress recalled how she became the butt of jokes in the 2008 scene with singer Anastacia, before “crying all the way home” and quitting the series after a decade.
Dawn explained how the show's costume designer “fell on her back laughing” when the Vicar Of Dibley star dressed up as an American singer.
Said: “I looked in the mirror and thought, 'Yeah, that's not it, that's not what Anastacia looks like.' But instead of finding it funny, I just thought, 'Oh, I don't like that.'” .
Adding, “It just felt like I wasn't in control of the comedy.” The joke was on me. I had no control over it in any way.'
Jennifer, who heard the story for the first time, said: “[I] “I didn't know it was so dramatic that you decided to stop the whole thing.”
Dawn continued: “I hated everything about that day and said I'll never do it again. “I'll never feel that humiliated again.
“I could have just been hormonal, but I just hated it, and I had never hated it before.”
In the documentary, Dawn also revealed that she quit her sketch show with her comedy partner Jennifer after a sketch with singer Anastacia “humiliated” her.
Jennifer then went on to say that her show ended “long before” the infamous TV bosses' “cancellation of everything” skit on television.
Dawn captioned the sketch showing a “young person's game” while her pal said: “We were kind of like, no one really wants us anymore and the truth is you need a break.”
“French and Saunders,” which was written by and starred the two, first aired in 1987 and was known for parodying famous films such as “Titanic” and “The Exorcist.”
On the show, Dawn broke down in tears as she spoke about her father's death when she was just 19 years old.
Denys French suffered from depression for many years and tragically took his own life in September 1977 at the age of 45.
The actress revealed that she was unaware of her father's illness as he had kept it a secret from her and her brother Gary, telling them that he suffered from headaches and needed to lie down occasionally.
She said: “I grew up with a man who was happy and cheerful most of the time and then had what we called 'migraines' in our house, where Dad was asleep and the curtains were drawn and you just had to be quiet.
“But I didn’t know that because then he could come out of it and be completely happy again.”
Speaking about his death, Dawn said it was “shocking and terrible” and left her stunned and “angry”.
She recalled: “A grenade exploded in our family, it was shocking and terrible, it was the worst thing you could imagine.”
“And I was angry and angry and just dripping with sadness over all of this and the shock of being at that age.”
However, Dawn said that as she grew older, she learned from her mother about the torment Denys had endured and now wanted to “forgive.”
She became visibly tearful and said: “As I got older, I began to understand what a terrible, hellish situation he was obviously in, the battle he had been fighting for so long, and you forgive.”
Dawn said that Denys had been a great source of confidence for her and that he had always boosted her self-esteem.
She said, “If you're a little fat girl, you could get into a big rift in your self-esteem.” I think he knew instinctively that I needed armor.
“I remember him stopping me as I was walking out the door and telling me I was beautiful and that I should value myself. 'That's why I always thought I was worth something.'
It comes after Dawn revealed she is planning a return to the big screen.
Speaking on LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr, Dawn said she hopes the show will air in either late 2024 or early 2025 and vowed she will “fight for people to be as offensive as they want.” “.
She said: “There are plans afoot.” I can't tell you much about that at the moment. But there's going to be a sitcom late next year or early next year and I'm going to be in it.'
Dawn spoke today about the state of comedy and recalled how difficult it was for her and Jennifer to bring Absolutely Fabulous to the screen.
On the show, Dawn broke down in tears as she spoke about her father's death when she was just 19 years old
Denys French suffered from depression for many years and tragically took his own life in September 1977, aged 45 (pictured with Dawn).
She said, “I remember Jennifer.” [Saunders] She told me how difficult it was to put “Absolutely Fabulous” together because her characters smoked, drank, fell over and were completely unhinged.
“But you know, it all seems so mild to me now… Let's be inappropriate, let's wear purple, let's just push the boundaries a little and laugh at ourselves when we do something wrong.”
When asked if comedy has become a bit boring these days, Dawn replied: “No, because there's everything.” There's everything for everyone. I would fight tooth and nail to make people as obnoxious as they want.
'Hate? No. I think we know when something turns into a completely unacceptable incitement to hatred. I think we all know when that is the case.
“And of course it’s just not funny.” Those are the facts. It's just not funny to anyone except the one person who thinks it, who is usually out of their mind.'