Absolutely Fabulous

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Complete episode guide


Season 1   Season 2  Season 3  Season 4   Season 5  Specials



Season 1

Fashion
Despite giving up coffee and alcohol and taking up colonic irrigation and Buddhist chanting, Edina is panicking about a fashion show she's organising, Princess Diana has turned down an invite, and the only celebs who can be bothered to attend are Sinitta and Anne Robinson.


Fat

Edina needs to get slim quickly because she's expecting a visit from old friend Penny Casper-Morse (Alexandra Bastedo), who used to tease her about her weight. She contemplates a regular fitness routine, but then Patsy suggests something much easier.


France

Edina and Patsy go on holiday to France but the luxury they've booked turns out to be the ramshackle servants quarters. Unable to negotiate the local shops, Edina orders Saffy bring food from England. Bubble turns up, too, with news that Edina's interior design business has hit problems.


ISO Tank

Edina buys an isolation tank where she suffers from claustrophobia and has dreams about a bizarre world in which Bubble is efficient and Saffy is interesting.

Magazine

Edina has a date. Meanwhile, Patsy has to find her own way to the magazine where she works and organise a fashion show on television. But all her models refuse to take part, leaving her to call on Saffy and Mother. Features Kathy Burke, Helen Lederer and Harriet Thorpe as Patsy's colleagues Magda, Catriona and Fleur and Eleanor Bron as Patsy's mother.


Birthday

Saffy plans a surprise birthday party for Edina. Mother, Bubble, Justin, Oliver, Marshall and his new wife Bo attend, but Edina has got a complex about being 40 and refuses to show up.


Season 2

Hospital

Edina goes to hospital for minor surgery on a stubbed toe. Patsy needs to lie low following the revelation of her affair with a politician – and the revelation of her real age – so she joins her and has a face peel. Features Germaine Greer (as Edina's ideal mother), Helena Bonham-Carter (as Edina's ideal daughter), Richard E Grant, Suzi Quatro, and Mandy Rice-Davies. Plus Kathy Burke, Helen Lederer and Harriet Thorpe appear as Patsy's colleagues Magda, Catriona and Fleur.

Death

Edina's father dies but all she can worry about is her mortality and her weight – much to the disgust of Saffy. Edina's solution to her woes is to spend thousands of pounds on pieces of art so she can have something to leave in her will.

Morocco

Edina goes with Patsy to Marrakech for a photo shoot to promote Popspex. Saffy comes, too, and ends up being sold into slavery. Features John Wells as Uncle Humphrey.

New Best Friend

Patsy is hurt when Edina asks her to leave the house so she can make it minimalistic enough to please old friends Bettina (Miranda Richardson) and Max (Patrick Barlow), who are coming to stay. But the fashionable pair now have a baby and have learned to live with clutter. Meanwhile, Edina has no work for Bubble so she sends her to Marie Claire magazine. Features Britt Ekland, Lulu and Zandra Rhodes.

Poor

Saffy and her accountant Malcolm (Mark Wing-Davey) force Edina to economise, but a trip to the shops in the new car costs more than Edina bargained for – an appearance in court.

Birth

Patsy has burned down Edina's kitchen by falling asleep with a cigarette in her mouth. Then Mother accidentally locks the pair in the living room with Saffy, who has to endure some motherly advice. Features Eleanor Bron as Patsy's mother.


Season 3

Door Handle

Edina has a nice new pocket organiser – but what she really needs is the perfect door handle for her new kitchen (the old one was burned down by Patsy) so she flies Concorde to New York with Patsy to find it. Amid the shopping, she finds time to have her navel pierced.

Happy New Year

Saffy is going to have a quiet New Year's Eve with Gran, her father Justin and his boyfriend Oliver, while Eddie and Patsy are planning to go to the hippest club in the universe (in an underground car park). Those plans fly out of the window, though, thanks to the arrival of Patsy’s long-lost sister Jackie (Kate O’Mara), who is 72.

Sex

When Edina explores Serge's abandoned room, she finds a copy of Razzle (not the one Patsy was in) and realises it's been a long time since she had sex. So, while Saffy is giving a lecture on genetics and ethics at university, Patsy and Edina hire a pair of male prostitutes – Hilton (Idris Elba) and Geoff (Andrew Loudon) – recommended by Edina's hairdresser Christopher (James Dreyfus). They plan to set the mood with home-made video of an orgy the pair attended in the Sixties, but Saffy has accidentally swapped it with a tape she needs to illustrate her speech.

Jealous

The PRs’ PR award is being presented by Naomi Campbell at a bash that is so posh that Lulu's there. Edina is desperate to win – after all, she chose the judges – but she faces a tough rival in Claudia Bing (Celia Imrie). When the inevitable happens, Edina is determined to gain revenge and devises the global integrated tele-satellite projection system. Meanwhile, Saffy invites her psychology lecture Gerard (Simon Stokes) back for coffee – and tea.

Fear

Saffy's departure from home forces Edina to go the the university when she needs a tin to be opened, but it also gives her the freedom to indulge in whisky, ice cream and techno music without incurring her daughter's disapproval. Edina manages to keep number one client Lulu by joining forces with US giant PRM, while Patsy is offered a job as fashion director on HQ in New York. Features Kathy Burke, Helen Lederer and Harriet Thorpe as Patsy's colleagues Magda, Catriona and Fleur.

The End

A lonely Edina joins a new-age commune while Patsy is in New York and Saffy is at university. Mother stays at home and becomes addicted to a shopping channel (which Josie Lawrence presents). But Edina gets bored trying to find her inner self and hires a helicopter to track down Patsy, who is also fed up after losing out in a bid to win the wealthy but ailing publisher Mitchell (Max Brant). Also featured a frightening look forward to 25 years' time.


Season 4

Parralox
Edina has taken up all the latest fads – yoga like Madonna, Jamie Oliver-style cookery, a scooter and a life coach – and diversified her business into design, the internet and TV production (Radical TV). She hasn't made any shows yet, but is booked to make an appearance with client Twiggy on This Morning with Richard and Judy to promote Fists Across America, a radical gay campaign. Patsy has had undergone the anti-wrinkle treatment parralox; New Labour follower Saffy has been working at the Millennium Dome and now wants a job promoting British art and culture abroad; Mother has become a silver surfer, looking at shopping sites and porn on the net. Also featured appearances by It Girl Lady Victoria Hervey, EastEnders' Michael Greco and pop star Stephen Gately.

Fish Farm

Edina and Patsy go mosh-pitting at a Marilyn Manson concert. Then Edina falls for landscape gardener Jago Balfour (Crispin Bonham-Carter), who Saffy has hired, once she is told how to get into the garden. Meanwhile, Mother and her pal Dolly (Dora Bryan) are hired as film extras by the smooth-talking Bryce (Tim Wylton).

Paris

Patsy reminisces about her modeling days when she, Edina and Saffy are invited to Paris to be in a fashion spread. But Patsy discovers that she can't turn back time and can't get on with fussy photographer Rimmer (Dave Gorman). Features supermodel Erin O’Connor, Sasha Distel and Christian Lacroix.

Donkey

After Fleur (Harriet Thorpe) and Catriona (Helen Lederer) tell Edina she's fat, she goes on the detox diet recommended in Katy Grin's book Grin And Bare It and undertake a military fitness routine. While exhausted, she falls into a sleep and dreams of God (Marianne Faithfull) and the Devil (Anita Pallenberg). Meanwhile, Saffy has written an autobiographical play, Self-Raising Flower, which the Royal Court Theatre wants to workshop, and has been reunited with old schoolfriend Taylor Johns (Julian Rhind-Tutt), an actor who seems to be going nowhere.

Small Opening

Edina is desperate to become a celebrity, spurred on by the fact that Katy Grin is presenting Children In Need. She'll even pose naked for Cosmo. But she is distracted when she discovers, via an accidental mobile phone call, that Saffy has not only written a play but that it is going to be staged. When they turn up at the theatre, Edina is upset that the actress playing her is huge and Patsy's upset because she is being played by a man. Features a dream sequence, to the tune of Adam & The Ants' Prince Charming, in which Edina and Patsy take infant Saffy to the playground.

Menopause

Patsy is misbehaving more than usual after entering menopause so Saffy sets up a Menopause Anonymous meeting in the house. Bubble ruins Edina's business by e-mailing the client list to deadly rival Claudia Bing (Celia Imrie), but Edina gets another chance and sets out to attract the attention of Madonna. Featuring Twiggy, Leigh Lawson, Dale Winton and Ruby Wax.


Season 5

Cleanin
'
Singer Emma Bunton, playing herself, arrives for a business meeting with Edina and is horrified to find the house is a complete mess. Indeed, everything has gone to pot for Edina. Apart from Emma, her only other client is Queen Noor; she's taking no care of her personal hygiene; and since Saffy went to Iraq on a humanitarian mission, there's been no cleaning down. But now Saffy's due back.

Book Clubbin'

Edina is having nightmares about becoming a grandmother and is having little success with the celebrity book club; Saffy tells John (Felix Dexter), the father of her child, that she's pregnant; and Patsy and Edina and get advice on the latest health fads from journalist Plum (Kristin Scott-Thomas). Mariella Frostrup plays herself and Jeanette Krankie appears as a mad midwife.


Panickin'

Edina now has a panic room in her home. It comes with champagne, toilet paper and a high-tech surveillance system, so she's very proud of it. Obviously, it all goes wrong and a Big Brother scenario results. Meanwhile, Patsy tries to impress actress Minnie Driver when she pops into her Bond Street boutique.


Huntin', Shootin', Fishin'
In a bid to become part of the gentry, Edina and Patsy try out horse riding and clay pigeon shooting when they spend the weekend on a country estate where the host is Clarissa Dickson Wright. Meanwhile, singer Emma Bunton is being stalked by Saffy's lfriend Sarah.


Birthin'
Saffy prepares to give birth, with Mother messing things up before Bo, Marshall and Justin arrive to create more chaos. Meanwhile, Patsy's plans to host the prestigious International Style Awards at the Royal Albert Hall are ruined by an unexpected arrival, and Katy Grin lands a part in Chicago.


Schmoozin'
Edina's new boyfriend is the owner of the lost Beatles tapes so she agrees to host a party to play the tracks to a select group of record producers. But her hopes of success – and a wedding – are dashed. Guest stars are Elton John and Robert Lindsay.


Exploitin'
Eddie is getting frustrated with the baby’s crying and there are toys everywhere, taking over her house. However it all seems worthwhile when Patsy books the baby for her first modelling job – a photo shoot at the zoo with Jean Paul Gaultier. The only problem is getting the baby past Saffy and out of the house, as she doesn’t trust either of them with her daughter. Their cunning plan pays off and they arrive at the photo shoot, but will baby Jane survive a day at the zoo with Patsy and Eddie?


Specials

The Last Shout (1996: two-part special)

Part 1
Edina has a dolphin living in the bathroom; Patsy has been evicted from her flat above Oddbins; Bubble is working for French Vogue and Saffy is planning to marry boyfriend Paolo (Tom Hollander). Edina and Patsy decide to get away from it all with a ski-ing holiday in Val d'Isere.


Part 2
Edina returns from her holiday – and a narrow escape from death – to find a friend of Mother is living in a camper van in front of the house. Preparations for Saffy's wedding begin, including a trip to Christian Lacroix for the wedding dress. Features Marianne Faithfull as God, Marcella Detroit as an Angel, Kathy Burke, Helen Lederer and Harriet Thorpe as Patsy's colleagues Magda, Catriona and Fleur, Dora Bryan, Ed Devereaux, Nicky Clarke, Suzy Menkes, Christian Lacroix, Bruce Oldfield, Christopher Biggins and James Dreyfus.


Gay (December 2002)
Edina and Patsy head to New York to find Edina's long-lost son Serge (Josh Marshall). Meanwhile, Bubble is being retrained, Saffy is suffering for her art, and Bo and Marshall are fronting a Christian television show. Whoopi Goldberg, Debbie Harry and Graham Norton make guest appearances, along with famous faces from the fashion world.


Drinkin' (December 2003)
It's been a big year in the Monsoon household, Saffy has got herself a boyfriend and given birth to a baby girl. Edina has come to terms with becoming a grandmother - but not with her grand-daughter's name Jane, she prefers Lola. Even more surprisingly she's developed a closer relationship with Saffron. Patsy meanwhile is feeling put out and neglected, particularly after failed attempts to move into celebrity styling and awards presenting, not to mention the discovery of those porn movies. However Christmas is guaranteed party time - Patsy and Eddie always go away to somewhere hot and exotic and drink themselves into a stupor. Patsy hates Christmas and refuses to acknowledge its existence. Unfortunately Eddie has other plans this year and for the very first time, she wants to stay at home with Saffy and her grand-daughter. She's even applying her usual restrained shopping style on Christmas presents. Saffy is thrilled with her Mum's new found interest in Christmas but is getting tired of her attempts to commercialise the day. Bubble meanwhile is less impressed with her new role as the Christmas Fairy while Bo and Marshall are working on a fantastic new product "Staylene" - ideal for dealing with Christmas excesses. John is fascinated to find out that Eddie's first husband is gay and has a lot of questions to ask. All of this Christmas spirit is too much for Patsy, she starts hallucinating about past Christmas' with her mother and sister. She collapses and has to be rushed into hospital. Has 43 (67) years of drug and alcohol abuse finally taken its toll - is this the end for Patsy?

The Story of AbFab(2003)
Was Patsy once a man? Who nearly put Joanna Lumley off taking the role? Who was originally going to be Saffy? And what do Marisa Berensen, Jennifer Saunders and Lynne Franks all have in common? How is Ruby Wax involved? Those and other burning questions are answered in The Story of Absolutely Fabulous the definitive film of one of British comedy's most definitive sitcoms. From how it came into being, to how it manages to stay at the top of its game, this entertaining documentary follows the antics of the Ab Fab crew, and sheds some light on some of comedy's most blurry, far-out characters.
Featuring behind-the-scenes footage and drunken outtakes, The Story of Absolutely Fabulous tells you everything you needed to know and a little bit more.

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