French and Saunders to reunite on stage for the first time in 17 years at Christmas London Palladium Panto

Legendary comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are reuniting on stage this Christmas for the first time in 17 years.

The pair have been announced to star in this year's pantomime at the London Palladium as none other than the Ugly Sisters.

They will be joined by the ever-present Julian Clary as the Fairy Godmother, as well as the usual favourites Nigel Havers, Paul Zerdin and Rob Madge.

This is the second time Saunders has appeared in the iconic Palladium pantomime, having previously starred as Captain Hook in 2023, while French has worked with producer Michael Harrison twice before in Snow White and Jack and the Beanstalk – but never have they panto'd together.

They said: “We have wished to play the Ugly Sisters for so many years, it feels this is the fulfilment of a dream – a dream our hearts made. Watch out. It won’t be pretty.”

French and Saunders have been mainstays of British comedy for over 40 years, having first come to prominence in the 1980s. The pair launched their eponymous sketch show in 1978 and have since gone on to star in a myriad of hit shows from Absolutely Fabulous to The Vicar of Dibley.

This year will mark the Palladium's 11th panto, with last year's anniversary run proving to be a record-breaking success. The production of Sleeping Beauty, starring Catherine Tate, became the fastest-selling pantomime in the Palladium's history and got more than 137,000 patrons through the door in just a five-week run. Now, Harrison is determined to go further.

He said: “We always want to raise the bar for our incredible panto audiences each year, so I’m absolutely delighted that Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders will be starring in this year’s Cinderella.

"Having two of the nation’s most beloved comedy icons together on the Palladium stage is incredibly exciting. Their legendary chemistry and razor-sharp humour will make this a truly special experience for audiences.”

Last year, Harrison gave us an insight into just how much prep these productions take, saying: "It's a year round business, we start the prep a year in advance for, you know, the designs of the costumes, the scenery.

"It's a Victorian tradition that there has to be some kind of big magical moment at the end of Act One, like Cinderella going to the ball, Aladdin in the cave, and you've got to find ways to reinvigorate and reinvent that early."

He continued: "I mean, for London the design and making process of Julian Clary's costume has a bigger budget than some West End shows, you can spend £30-£40,000 on a costume for him."

"It's a big cast: 16 dancers, 10 principles, 12 in the orchestra and all of the backstage team. Then pantomime gets people through the doors of a theatre when they're unlikely to for the rest of the year.

"You might have a piece of drama or dance commissioned in a local theatre that's only financially viable because of the money made in panto season, so it's hugely important."

Tickets for the London Palladium panto will go on sale from Thursday 2 April, with priority booking beginning from 31 March.

Make sure you also check out the news about Trainspotting the Musical.