| Absolutely Fabulous | |
|---|---|
Title card (2011–2012) | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Jennifer Saunders |
| Based on | "Modern Mother and Daughter" fromFrench and Saunders byDawn French and Jennifer Saunders |
| Written by | Jennifer Saunders |
| Starring |
|
| Theme music composer | Bob Dylan Rick Danko |
| Opening theme | "This Wheel's on Fire", performed byJulie Driscoll andAdrian Edmondson[a] |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 39(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Camera setup |
|
| Running time | 30–60 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC2 |
| Release | 12 November (1992-11-12) – 17 December 1992 (1992-12-17) |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 27 January 1994 (1994-01-27) – 7 November 1996 (1996-11-07) |
| Release | 31 August 2001 (2001-08-31) – 25 December 2004 (2004-12-25) |
| Release | 25 December 2011 (2011-12-25) – 23 July 2012 (2012-07-23) |
Absolutely Fabulous (often shortened toAb Fab) is a British televisionsitcom created and written byJennifer Saunders, which premiered in 1992. It is based on the 1990French and Saunders sketch "Modern Mother and Daughter", created byDawn French and Saunders.
Saunders stars asEdina Monsoon, a heavy-drinking, drug-abusingPR mogul who spends her time failing to lose weight and chasing bizarre fads in a desperate attempt to stay young and "hip." Edina's best friend is ex-model and magazine fashion directorPatsy Stone (Joanna Lumley), whose drug abuse, alcohol consumption and desperate promiscuity far eclipse Edina's. Edina relies upon the support of her daughter Saffron (Julia Sawalha), a student and aspiring writer whose constant care of her immature mother has left her a bitter cynic. The series also starsJune Whitfield as Edina's dotty, sarcastic and often thieving mother, andJane Horrocks as Bubble, Edina's nearly-useless personal assistant.
The first three series ofAbsolutely Fabulous were broadcast on theBBC from 1992 to 1995, followed by a series finale in the form of a two-part special entitledThe Last Shout, in 1996. In 2000, the show was ranked number 17 on the100 Greatest British Television Programmes by theBritish Film Institute. It was revived for two more series and two one-hour specials from 2001 to 2004. Three new episodes, collectively titledAbsolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary, were released in 2011–2012. Twosketches for charity specials were also released, forComic Relief in 2005 andSport Relief in 2012. A film continuation,Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, was theatrically released in 2016, with many of the show's supporting cast returning.
Saunders confirmed in 2016 that she is "not doing anything more withAb Fab", as she wanted to focus on new projects.[1] In October 2024, Saunders, Lumley, Sawalha and Horrocks appeared in the DocumentaryAbsolutely Fabulous: Inside Out, which was broadcast onGold.[2]
Edina Monsoon (Saunders) is the middle-aged owner of a failingPR firm in London's tonyHolland Park neighborhood. Her best friend is Patsy Stone (Lumley), an aging former fashion model who holds asinecure position at a top British magazine. The two women use their considerable financial resources to indulge in cigarettes, alcohol (most notablyBollinger Champagne) andrecreational drugs and to chase the latest fads in an attempt to maintain their youth and recapture their glory days asMods inswinging London. The partnership is driven mainly by Patsy, who is bothco-dependent and anenabler to Edina.
Their lifestyle inevitably leads to various personal crises, which are invariably resolved by Edina's daughter, Saffron Monsoon (Sawalha), whose constant involvement in their exploits has left her increasingly bitter and cynical. Edina's unnamed mother (Whitfield) visits the Monsoon home frequently to keep Saffron company, help with chores and, quite often, taking Edina's possessions to sell at offcar boot sales. The relationship between Edina and mother is strained, as they disagree on virtually everything and are rarely alone together, a relationship with which they are both keen to antagonize each other. Meanwhile, Edina's affairs are handled, usually very badly, by Bubble (Horrocks), an incompetent, immature and neurotic personal assistant, whose antics frequently lead to further complications for Edina's business and personal life.
Many celebrities, mainly British or American, appeared in the series, most of them as themselves. They include:
Absolutely Fabulous evolved from aFrench and Saunders sketch called "Modern Mother and Daughter" (fromseries 3 episode 6), which starred Saunders as the mother, named Adrianna, and French as the daughter, named Saffron (as in the series). The sketch revolved around a middle-aged single mother who acted like a teenager and was reliant upon the emotional and financial support of her teenage daughter, who behaved like a middle-aged woman.[3]
It has no connection, other than the character's name, to the earlier film,Eddie Monsoon: A Life?, a comedy play written by Saunders' husbandAdrian Edmondson in 1984 for the TV series,The Comic Strip Presents.... The name "Edina Monsoon" is derived from Edmondson's name and "Eddy Monsoon" is a nickname of his.[3][4]

Saunders revealed in 2012 that she was inspired by pop bandBananarama, with whom she andDawn French had become friends after theirComic Relief collaboration in 1989.[3]
"The nights with Bananarama were some of the best nights of my life, and I got a lot of gags from Bananarama because they were big vodka drinkers...when I started doing AbFab, I remembered all of the falls that I saw Bananarama do. I once saw one of them coming out of a cab bottom first and hitting the road, and I thought 'that's class'".[3][5]
AlthoughAb Fab was produced by Saunders and French's company, Saunders & French Productions, Dawn French appeared on the show only once, in a cameo in the first-series episode "Magazine", before making a brief cameo in the 2016 film. French was originally intended to play Edina's daughter, Saffron, but a younger actress (Sawalha) was ultimately cast.[4]
The first three series were broadcast on theBBC from 1992 to 1995, followed by aseries finale in the form of a two-part television film entitledThe Last Shout in 1996. Saunders revived the show for a fourth series in 2001 after writing and submitting a pilot entitledMirrorball, which recruited nearly all of the original cast in new roles. The pilot was intended to be turned into a series of episodes. However, Saunders felt the AbFab characters were too rich and interesting to put aside and were far better suited for her new story ideas. Instead ofMirrorball, a new series ofAbsolutely Fabulous was proposed to the BBC, which later commissioned the fourth series in 2001. From 2001 to 2004, two series were produced, along with two one-off hour-long specials;Gay (retitled and issued asAbsolutely Fabulous in New York for the United States) in 2002 andWhite Box (another series finale), which aired in 2004. AComic Relief sketch was broadcast in 2005.
In November 2010, Lumley revealed toPlaybill magazine that she had recently spoken to Saunders about possibly filming a new series.[6] Lumley and Saunders reunited for theM&S Christmas advert in 2009, along with other stars such asTwiggy andStephen Fry.In August 2011, Lumley confirmed the planned filming of three new episodes.[6] In 2011, plans for a 20th-anniversary revival were welcomed inThe Guardian, which applauded the show as "prophetic".[7] The first new special ofAbsolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary was broadcast on 25 December with the second episode being shown on 1 January 2012. The third and final special, aired on 23 July 2012, coincided with the2012 Summer Olympics[8] in London, withStella McCartney appearing in acameo role. A sketch forSport Relief was also broadcast in 2012. A film version of the series,Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, was released to theatres in the summer of 2016.[9][10]
Three new specials were announced to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary, with the first special, "Identity", airing on 25 December 2011.Jon Plowman, executive producer and original producer of the series, said: "Viewers have been fantastically loyal in their devotion to our show, so we're really thrilled to say that it's coming back for three new shows to celebrate our 20th anniversary. All of the originals who are back together again are still truly absolutely fabulous and the new adventures of Edina, Patsy, Saffy, Bubble and Mother, plus a few surprising guests, will be a real treat for viewers." Saunders announced in November 2011 that she had begun work on a film version of the series.[11]
In the United States, the episodes were jointly co-produced by Logo and BBC America in the US.[12] and aired in January 2012 for broadcast by both BBC America and Logo Channel. Both channels co-produced the 20th Anniversary episodes, although Logo removed some scenes for its airings. BBC America broadcast it in full. Both channels aired the episode in a 40-minute block to allow for commercial interruptions.
On 3 January 2012, following the success of the 20th anniversary specials, it was rumoured that Saunders was set to write another Christmas special for 2012. The BBC was rumoured to be urging her to write a sixth series for 2013.[13] Saunders denied the reports of additional episodes via her Twitter account.
Episodes ofAbsolutely Fabulous were shot in front of a live studio audience.[14][15]
The theme song forAbsolutely Fabulous is "This Wheel's on Fire", written byBob Dylan andRick Danko and performed byJulie Driscoll and Saunders'Comic Strip fellow and later husband,Adrian Edmondson. The song was also sung byMarianne Faithfull andP. P. Arnold for the two-part special, "The Last Shout", in 1996.Hermine Demoriane sang the theme song with a French accent over the closing credits of the series 4 episode "Paris" in 2001.[16] At the end of the series 1 episode "Birthday", Edina and Patsy sang the song together on a karaoke machine.[17] It was later performed byDebbie Harry and Edmondson in the 2002 Christmas special "Gay" (where Harry also guest-starred), as well as in series 5. For series 4, a line sung byDavid Bowie, "Ziggy played guitar", from his song "Ziggy Stardust", played at the end of each episode.
Due to copyright issues, the theme song is missing from many US Region 1 DVDs, replaced by an instrumental version. Also excised from the US DVD release is the musical number fromChicago performed by Horrocks, Gaffney, and Ryan during a dream sequence in the series 5 episode "Birthin'".
In addition to the official theme song, in 1994,Pet Shop Boys recorded asong forComic Relief using excerpts of dialogue from the series put to dance music. The single was attributed to "Absolutely Fabulous produced by Pet Shop Boys". It peaked at number six on theUK Singles Chart in July 1994. The music video featured clips from the show and specially recorded footage of the Pet Shop Boys with Patsy and Edina.
On 10 June 2016,Kylie Minogue released a cover version of "This Wheel's on Fire" for the soundtrack toAbsolutely Fabulous: The Movie, before the film's release in July 2016.[18]
On 29 November 2016, Jennifer Saunders confirmed that she was "done" withAbsolutely Fabulous and that it would not return to television for another series or specials, nor would a sequel to the film be made. Saunders said she wished to focus on new projects and spend more time with her family.[19] Even so, in 2018, Saunders, when asked about the prospect of reviving the programme yet again, did not entirely dismiss it, saying "I am thinking at the moment of writing a little something. It has to be age-appropriate otherwise we’d have to be in wheelchairs basically. I think Julia is old enough to be my mother now." Saunders said the prospect of writing new stories with those characters was "always on [her] mind, always".[20]
In November 2020, Joanna Lumley was asked about the possibility of another revival and said that that would be up to Saunders. Lumley said it was unlikely, as Saunders did not want to work on new stories featuring the characters at that time. Lumley said that June Whitfield's death in December 2018 also meant it was less likely to happen, but said if Saunders wished to write newAb Fab stories, she would be up for returning to play Patsy; she said "wait and see".
In Portugal,Ab Fab has been shown onRTP2. In Serbia, the first series was aired in 1998, through a network of local television stations. In 2004, the series was aired onB92, while in the Czech Republic, all episodes have been shown. In North Macedonia, all episodes have been shown several times on Sitel. In the Netherlands and Flanders, the series is popular, and it is still regularly re-broadcast by theVPRO andCanvas, respectively. In Sweden, all episodes were first broadcast bySVT, but reruns have later appeared on other channels. In Germany, it was broadcast by the Franco-German TV networkArte and gay-oriented channelTIMM. In France, before it was rerun on terrestrial TV arte, it was successively premiered on pay TV channelCanal +, cable channel Jimmy, and is now broadcast onFrance 4. In Finland, the series was broadcast byYLE TV1. In Estonia, the series was broadcast byETV. In Poland, two series were broadcast byWizja Jeden, later by TVP3, TVN7 andBBC Entertainment.
In Australia, all series were initially shown on theABC and on cable onUK.TV, and moved toThe Comedy Channel in 2007. Repeats of the first three series were also shown on theSeven network. ABC continues to show it sporadically, including Christmas specials and occasional repeats of series five episodes.ABC2 also shows repeats of the show. As of 6–7 August 2016, the series was shown onNine Network's sister channel9Gem to promote the upcoming film adaptation. All five series were broadcast in New Zealand onTVNZ. In India, all five series, including the specials, have been shown on BBC Entertainment.
In the United States,Absolutely Fabulous premiered on 24 July 1994 onComedy Central with a 12-episode marathon.[21][22] Some public television stations have also broadcast it, but not as part of the PBS program offerings, in addition toBBC America,Oxygen Network, and as of 2011,Logo, a gay-oriented channel.[23] In Canada, the programme has appeared on theBBC Canada, theCBC,The Comedy Network andVisionTV. In the United States in April 2021, the entire series is being included with Amazon’s Prime streaming service; while listed slightly differently, e.g., "Season 5" adds the final three episodes from 2011 to the British series five from 2003 to 2004, all episodes are available with a Prime membership. It is also available on theBritbox streaming service.
In Israel, some of the series was aired onYes Plus and onBBC Entertainment. In Brazil, all episodes were aired onEurochannel &Multishow in the late 90s & 2000s beginning, and in the 2010s atGNT.
| Series | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | |||
| 1 | 6 | 12 November 1992 (1992-11-12) | 17 December 1992 (1992-12-17) | BBC2 | |
| 2 | 6 | 27 January 1994 (1994-01-27) | 10 March 1994 (1994-03-10) | BBC One | |
| 3 | 6 | 30 March 1995 (1995-03-30) | 11 May 1995 (1995-05-11) | ||
| Specials | 6 November 1996 (1996-11-06) | 7 November 1996 (1996-11-07) | |||
| 4 | 6 | 31 August 2001 (2001-08-31) | 5 October 2001 (2001-10-05) | ||
| Special | 27 December 2002 (2002-12-27) | ||||
| 5 | 8 | 17 October 2003 (2003-10-17) | 24 December 2003 (2003-12-24) | ||
| Special | 25 December 2004 (2004-12-25) | ||||
| 20th Anniversary | 3 | 25 December 2011 (2011-12-25) | 23 July 2012 (2012-07-23) | ||
Tim Gray ofVariety magazine said that "Absolutely Fabulous, British sitcom about a rich, self-absorbed, falling-down-drunk woman, is not as funny as it intends to be, but it is absolutely unique, absolutely rude and absolutely politically incorrect". He also said that "AbFab offers no sense of justice, which may give viewers the heebie-jeebies, since Americans like to believe that the wicked, even if they are amusing, will get punished. But the characters are originals, andAbFab has the courage of its convictions, encouraging audiences to find humor in such recent comedic taboos as substance abuse or mistreated offspring."[24]
Michael Hogan ofThe Daily Telegraph gave the 20th Anniversary specials a negative review; following the "Olympics" episode, he commented, "The special Olympic edition ofAbsolutely Fabulous [...] would have won no medals for comedy." He added, "This was the last of three 20th anniversary specials, the first pair of which were shown over Christmas. Every single one of those 20 years showed on-screen during this torturous half-hour."[25]
In a more favourable review, Meredith Blake ofThe A.V. Club stated, "While longtimeAbFab fans will enjoy this latest incarnation of the series, which has been reprised multiple times since its official end in 1995, 'Identity' most definitely isn't forAbFab neophytes, who will most likely be confused by the broad performances, the outré costumes, and the disembodied canned laughter."[26]
| Series | Timeslot | # Ep. | First aired | Last aired | Rank | Avg. viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Viewers (millions) | Date | Viewers (millions) | |||||
| 1 | Thursday 9:00 pm | 6 | 12 November 1992 | TBA | 17 December 1992 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 2 | Thursday 9:30 pm | 6 | 27 January 1994 | TBA | 10 March 1994 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 3 | 6 | 30 March 1995 | TBA | 11 May 1995 | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
| 4 | Friday 9:00 pm | 6 | 31 August 2001 | 8.28[27] | 5 October 2001 | 6.64[27] | 13 | 7.46 |
| 5 | Friday 9:00 pm (1–7) | 8 | 17 October 2003 | 7.69[27] | 24 December 2003 | 6.91[27] | N/A | 6.74 |
| Year | Association | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA) | Light Entertainment Performance | Jennifer Saunders (Series 1) | Nominated | [28] |
| Light Entertainment Performance | Joanna Lumley (Series 1) | Won | |||
| Best Comedy (Programme or Series) | Jon Plowman, Bob Spiers, Jennifer Saunders (Series 1) | Won | |||
| 1995 | Best Comedy Performance | Joanna Lumley (Series 2) | Won | [29] | |
| Best Comedy (Programme or Series) | Jon Plowman, Bob Spiers, Jennifer Saunders (Series 2) | Nominated | |||
| 1996 | Best Comedy Performance | Joanna Lumley (Series 3) | Nominated | [30] | |
| Best Comedy (Programme or Series) | Jon Plowman, Bob Spiers, Jennifer Saunders (Series 3) | Nominated | |||
| 1997 | Best Comedy Performance | Joanna Lumley (episode:The Last Shout) | Nominated | [31] | |
| Best Comedy (Programme or Series) | Jon Plowman, Bob Spiers, Jennifer Saunders, Janice Thomas (episode:The Last Shout) | Nominated | |||
| 2002 | Best Comedy Performance | Joanna Lumley (Series 4) | Nominated | [32] | |
| 2012 | Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme | Jennifer Saunders (20th Anniversary) | Won | [33] | |
| 1993 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Best Costume Design | Sarah Burns, Philip Lester (Series 1) | Nominated | [34] |
| 2005 | Best Make-Up & Hair Design | Christine Cant (episode:White Box) | Nominated | [35] | |
| 1993 | British Comedy Awards | Best Comedy Actress | Jennifer Saunders (Series 1) | Nominated | |
| Best Comedy Actress | Joanna Lumley (Series 1) | Won | [36] | ||
| Best New TV Comedy | Absolutely Fabulous (Series 1) | Won | |||
| 1994 | Best TV Comedy Actress | Jennifer Saunders (Series 2) | Nominated | ||
| Best BBC Sitcom | Absolutely Fabulous (Series 2) | Nominated | |||
| 1995 | Best BBC Sitcom | Absolutely Fabulous (Series 3) | Nominated | ||
| 2002 | Best Comedy Actress | Joanna Lumley (Series 4) | Nominated | ||
| 1993 | Writers' Guild of Great Britain | TV - Situation Comedy | Jennifer Saunders (Series 1) | Won | [37] |
| 1994 | International Emmy Awards | Popular Arts | Absolutely Fabulous (episode: "Hospital") (Tied withRed Dwarf) | Won | [38] |
| 1995 | CableACE Award | International Dramatic or Comedy Special or Series/Movie or Miniseries | Jon Plowman | Nominated | |
| 1995 | National Television Awards | Most Popular Comedy Programme | Absolutely Fabulous (Series 3) | Nominated | |
| 2013 | Most Popular Situation Comedy | Absolutely Fabulous (20th Anniversary) | Nominated | ||
| 2004 | Television and Radio Industries Club | Comedy Programme | Absolutely Fabulous (Series 5) | Won | [39] |
| 2018 | Online Film & Television Association | TV Hall of Fame | Absolutely Fabulous | Won | [40] |
In 2000,Absolutely Fabulous was ranked as the 17thgreatest British television show of all time by theBritish Film Institute (BFI).[41] In 1997, the pilot episode, "Fashion", was ranked #47 onTV Guide's "100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time" list.[42] A scene from the show was included in theTV's 100 Greatest Moments programme broadcast byChannel 4 in 1999.[43] In 2004 and 2007, the show was ranked #24 and #29 onTV Guide's "Top Cult Shows Ever" list.[44] In 2019, the series ranked #9 inRadio Times' top 20 British sitcoms of all time.[45]Absolutely Fabulous has a 96% rating onRotten Tomatoes.[46]
From its earliest series,Absolutely Fabulous won a devoted cult status withgay audiences, which persists. There have been numerous tributes over the years, such as anAbsolutely Fabulous drag show atSydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and the song "Absolutely Fabulous" bysynth-pop duoPet Shop Boys. Later series of the show leaned into its cult status, including more gay-related storylines, such as Edina's search for her estranged gay son and Edina and Patsy marrying each other in a same-sex commitment ceremony.[47]
A proposed American remake that would have starredCarrie Fisher andBarbara Carrera was put into motion byRoseanne Barr but never materialised. However, Barr did incorporate many elements of the show into the ninth season of her eponymous showRoseanne, in which her character wins the lottery: Saunders and Lumley reprised their characters Edina and Patsy, and Mo Gaffney also appeared in the episode, though not as her character Bo.[48] Two later American sitcoms,Cybill[49] andHigh Society,[50] also adapted elements ofAbsolutely Fabulous for the American audience.[51]
It was announced on 7 October 2008 that an American version of the series was in the works. The series was tentatively calledAb Fab and relocated to Los Angeles.Saturday Night Live writer Christine Zander worked on the new scripts and would have been executive producer along with Saunders andBBC Worldwide'sIan Moffitt.Sony Pictures Television,BBC Worldwide, and indie Tantamount were producing the new series forFox, which greenlighted the pilot as a possible Fall 2009 entry[52][53][54] withKathryn Hahn as Eddy andKristen Johnston as Patsy.[55] In May 2009, Fox decided not to commission a full series.[56][57]
The stage for the kitchen inAb Fab was subsequently used as the stage for the shop in the British comedyMiranda. Miranda Hart, creator of the show, had previously appeared onAbsolutely Fabulous.
Mirrorball was a pilot set in the London theatre scene, starring the cast ofAbsolutely Fabulous as alternative characters. While writing and filming the show, Saunders was inspired to reviveAbsolutely Fabulous for a fourth series, which resulted in her abandoningMirrorball. It was eventually aired as a television special and is included as a special feature on the fourth series DVD. Some original characters from Mirrorball feature in the fourth series.[58]
A French film inspired byAbsolutely Fabulous, titledAbsolument fabuleux, was released in 2001. It was written and directed byGabriel Aghion, and starredJosiane Balasko as Eddy andNathalie Baye as Patsy. Saunders had a small cameo alongsideCatherine Deneuve as a spectator at a fashion show.Amanda Lear was asked to play the part of Patsy but turned it down laughingly, saying she had "already lived it".[59][60]
In 2011, before the release of the new episodes for 2011/2012,Deadline Hollywood reported that Saunders planned to begin writing a script for a film ofAbsolutely Fabulous in 2012. The film would begin with Edina and Patsy waking up on an oligarch's deserted yacht, drifting in the ocean.[61] Saunders later said that the film would be set on the French Riviera.[62] In March 2012, Saunders confirmed that she was working on the script.[63] She said of the film's plotline:
Eddy and Patsy are looking for what they imagine glamorous life should be. They're constantly searching for that perfect place to sit or that perfect pair of sunglasses. It's Shangri-La and it just might be round the next corner. In the meantime, they decide to take Saffy's (Julia Sawalha) daughter off her – she calls her Jane, I call her Lola – but then they lose her.[63]
Saunders also stated that now that she had announced plans for a feature, there was no going back. She would do it for no reason other than having her alter-ego and Patsy walk down the red carpet at the film's premiere.[63] In April 2013, Saunders said on theAlan Carr Chatty Man show that she had doubts about the film as she felt the cast was "too old". She felt pressure to write it and did not want to commit herself to it at this early stage.[64]
On 4 January 2014 whilst appearing onThe Jonathan Ross Show, Saunders officially confirmed that the movie will definitely be happening, as she felt obliged to write a script for a film adaptation after threatening it for so long.[65] Saunders was quoted as saying: "Joanna Lumley kept announcing it and saying, 'Yes she's going to do it,' and thenDawn French on our radio show at Christmas said, 'I bet £100,000 that you don't write it,' so now I have to write it, otherwise I have to pay her £100,000'".[66] In April 2014, Saunders again confirmed on BBC Breakfast that she was in the process of writing the film, and gave a prospective release date of sometime during 2015.[67]
Principal photography on the film began on 12 October 2015 in thesouth of France[68][69] and it premiered in London on 29 June 2016.
Absolutely Fabulous was initially released on VHS in the UK byBBC Video ending with the eight-VHS box setSeries 1–4 in November 2002. In the United States, series 1 and 2 were released together on Laserdisc by CBS/FOX in a boxed set in 1995, followed by series 3, released by CBS/FOX the following year and "The Last Shout" released by Image Entertainment in 1997. All episodes were later released on DVD, including a five-DVD box set titledThe Complete DVD Collection: Series 1–4 in 2002. BBC Video distributed all releases and2 Entertain (post 2004) except forThe Last Shout which was released byVision Video andUniversal Studios. The entire series is also available on demand oniTunes. When the first three series were re-released on DVD, they did not include corresponding cover photography to their series: Series 1 included an image from the Series 3 episode "Jealous", Series 2 had an image from the Series 3 episode "Doorhandle" and Series 3 is from the Series 2 episode "Poor". All other releases included imagery from the correct series, as do the original VHS releases.
In North America, all episodes have been released on DVD by BBC Video andWarner Home Video, including a complete collection namedAbsolutely Everything.The Last Shout andGay (released in the UK individually) were released as a collection calledAbsolutely Special in 2003. Another feature-length specialWhite Box was released exclusively to the American market. It was eventually released in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2010 with its inclusion in theAbsolutely Everything box set.
Other releases includeAbsolutely Not, a bloopers and outtakes collection, andAbsolutely Fabulous: A Life (released as "Ab Fab: Moments" in the United States exclusively to VHS), a mockumentary including 15 minutes of new material interspersed with clips from the series. Both were only released on VHS in the UK; the latter was also released as a special feature on the box set releaseAbsolutely Everything in America.
Save for "The Last Shout" and the specials "Gay" (aka "Absolutely Fabulous in New York") and "White Box", the entire series is available to stream via Hulu. The series is also available onNetflix.
In the United Kingdom, VHS releases were distributed byBBC Video, exceptThe Last Shout, which was released byVision Video, with a final release in 2002.
| Series/special | Episodes | Release date | Runtime | BBFC rating | Additional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 (Part 1) | 3 | 4 October 1993 | 86 minutes | 15 |
|
| Series 1 (Part 2) | 3 | 4 October 1993 | 86 minutes | 15 |
|
| Series 2 (Part 1) | 3 | 19 October 1994 | 88 minutes | 12 |
|
| Series 2 (Part 2) | 3 | 19 October 1994 | 87 minutes | 15 |
|
| The Complete Series 1 | 6 | 3 July 1995 | 173 minutes | 15 |
|
| Series 3 (Part 1) | 3 | 2 October 1995 | 86 minutes | 15 |
|
| Series 3 (Part 2) | 3 | 2 October 1995 | 84 minutes | 15 |
|
| Series 1–3 | 18 | 30 October 1995 | 518 minutes | 15 |
|
| The Complete Series 2 | 6 | 6 May 1996 | 175 minutes | 15 |
|
| The Last Shout | 2 | 11 November 1996 | 100 minutes | 12 |
|
| Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Not | N/A | 3 November 1997 | 58 minutes | 15 |
|
| Absolutely Fabulous: A Life | N/A | 2 November 1998 | 78 minutes | 12 |
|
| The Complete Series 4 | 6 | 19 November 2001 | 180 minutes | 15 |
|
| The Complete Series 3 | 6 | 25 November 2002 | 178 minutes | 15 |
|
| The Complete Series 2 | 6 | 25 November 2002 | 175 minutes | 15 |
|
| The Complete Series 1 | 6 | 25 November 2002 | 173 minutes | 15 |
|
| Series 1–4 | 24 | 25 November 2002 | 720 minutes | 15 |
|
All five series ofAbsolutely Fabulous have been released on DVD in individual series sets in Region 1, 2 & 4 viaBBC Video,2Entertain andRoadshow Entertainment, respectively. The specials have also been made available, not all in individual sets; "The Last Shout" was handled through Via Vision on Region 2,Universal Studios Home Entertainment on Region 4, and it was included alongside "Gay" on Region 1 from BBC Video. "Gay” was only released individually on Region 2, while it was included with the fifth series Region 4 DVD. "White Box" was only made available individually on Region 1 & 4. The 20th Anniversary DVD was released individually on all regions.
A set comprising the first three series was released on Region 1 only. A series one to four set was made available on Region 2 & 4. In 2006, Region 4 was the first region to release all five series; however, due to licensing rights, "The Last Shout" was omitted from the set, but "Gay" and "White Box" remained. It was re-released in 2011, including "The Last Shout". The same set was released prior on Region 1 in 2008 and on Region 2 in 2010, which, for the first time, included "White Box" in the UK, which was never available individually. A complete series set was released on all regions with the addition of the 20th Anniversary Specials.
| Series/ specials | Release date | Features | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
| Series 1 | 13 March 2001[70] | 20 November 2000[71] | 3 October 2001[72] | |
| Series 2 | 13 March 2001[73] | 1 October 2001[74] | 28 February 2002[75] | |
| Series 3 | 13 March 2001[76] | 12 November 2001[77] | 1 July 2002[78] | |
| Series 4 | 5 February 2002[79] | 8 April 2002[80] | 8 August 2002[81] | |
| Series 5 | 16 March 2004[82] | 27 September 2004[83] | 7 April 2004[84] | |
| Specials | ||||
| The Last Shout | — | 27 November 2000[85] | 20 June 2001[86] | |
| Gay | — | 29 September 2003[87] | — |
|
| Absolutely Special | 30 September 2003[88] | — | — |
|
| White Box | 16 October 2007[90] | — | 3 November 2005[91] |
|
| Ab Fab at 20 | 11 September 2012[92] | 30 July 2012[93] | 16 August 2012[94] | |
| Collections | ||||
| Series 1–3 | 13 March 2001[95] | — | — |
|
| Series 1–4 | — | 25 November 2002[96] | 8 October 2002[97] | |
| Series 1–5 | — | — | 20 April 2006[98] |
|
| Series 1–5 | 27 May 2008[99] | 15 November 2010[100] | 7 April 2011[101] | |
| Complete | 5 November 2013[102] | 17 March 2014[103] | 30 April 2014[104] | |