Jennifer Saunders once considered 'killing off' Ab Fab's Eddie and Patsy
Joanna Lumley revealed during the BFI and Radio Times TV Festival that her co-star suggested a drastic way to end the show – but she joked that the characters "can never die"
Scott Barbour/Getty Images
- Radio Times staff
Published: Saturday, 13 April 2019 at 3:03 pm
Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley revealed that her co-star Jennifer Saunders once considered a drastic way to end the show – by killing off Patsy and Eddie.
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Lumley said during the BFI & Radio Times TV Festival that Saunders once wrote her a message asking her whether they should "kill them off and bury them".
Lumley's response? Patsy and Eddie can "never die".
"“I utterly adore her [Patsy]," she told Saturday Live presenter and Q&A host Richard Coles. "The thing is, she can’t be destroyed. I hope I’m not saying anything out of turn, but Jennifer said, ‘Shall we just kill them off and bury them?’ and I wrote back the fastest email return I’ve ever written back.
"I said, ‘No, we’ve promised the world we will never die!' Anyway, I think I’ve made that up, but I just said, ‘No, we can’t die!’."
Lumley was speaking as she was inducted into the Radio Times Hall of Fame, an event to celebrate her 50-year career in TV and entertainment.
Richard Coles and Joanna Lumley in conversation at the BFI & Radio Times TV Festival (Radio Times)
Quashing any suggestions of retirement, the 72-year-old star said that she would never give up the "dream" of performing.
“The thing is, if I was in a job that I hated or was tedious or tired me out, and was not rewarding and that I couldn’t wait to get my holiday every year to get away from it, I’d retire like a shot," she said. "But as all I’m doing is all I dreamed of doing and being in life: why would I give it up?"
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Lumley also confirmed that she would be travelling to Cuba later in the year for a new TV travelogue.
Authors
Radio Times staff
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