Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders to reunite for special TV project

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are reuniting

(Image credit: Getty)

By Georgia Farquharson 2021-01-30T10:28:50Z

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are set to reunite on a brand new comedy TV show, French and Saunders: Funny Women.

French and Saunders last aired in 2005 with a cracking Christmas special, so this new two-hour episode will be their first outing in 16 years and aims to celebrate "all of the crucial and unforgettable female contributions to the pantheon of comic history" across the globe.

Talking about the show, which is set to air on Gold, Dawn, 63 - who recently revealed her daughter is 'torturing' her in lockdown and Jennifer, 62, joked, "Are women funny…? This is the thorny, age-old question we have been chewing over since both of us were two years old and to date, we still have no definitive answer.

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"So in this programme, we explore 50,000 or so irrefutable examples to see if we can draw any blatantly predetermined conclusions…"

They comedy TV duo have been practically part of the furniture in British households since they first started working together in 1978, so fans are thrilled that the pair are returning.

One fan said, "A right pair of trouble makers out to cause mischief!"

While another tweeted, "My year is made!"

Helen Nightingale, Senior commissioning editor at Gold said it's a pleasure to welcome the women back on screen.

"I’ve always been a huge fan of French and Saunders, and to be able to bring them back together on Gold to celebrate the funny women who inspire them is a dream come true."

Hurrah! We're delighted to be reuniting French and Saunders on screen later this year for #FunnyWomen.This two-hour celebration of women in comedy, will be filmed on the set of their classic sketch show and presented as only French and Saunders could.@Dawn_French @ferrifrump pic.twitter.com/TofsdI9cwGJanuary 29, 2021

The pair forged a firm friendship from the moment they met, and remain incredibly close friends.

Opening up about keeping in touch during the covid-19 global pandemic, Dawn - who admitted she does this bizarre daily ritual - said, “We see each other all the time anyway as friends. We're not very good on Zoom. I'd rather be on the phone to her or we text each other a lot.

“If we don't get to see each other much, we just pick up where we left off. There's never a guilty gap. It's not a friendship that you have to feed on a regular basis to keep it topped up. It's very secure.”

Georgia Farquharson

Georgia studied Print Journalism at university in Nottingham, England before going on to work on several leading celebrity magazines, as well as freelance writing for international magazine Grazia Middle East. An enthusiastic, hard-working and ambitious writer, Georgia recently launched her own communications consultancy, farq media. As Director and Founder, Georgia helps businesses with their Public Relations strategy, as well as influencer and celebrity marketing. She also represents several influencers of her own. She lives with this motto in mind; "if your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough."