Dawn French 'punches' Jennifer Saunders in hilarious sketch as inner tensions are aired

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are set to have an open and honest conversation about Jennifer's decision to cast herself as the main character in French and Saunders.

The comedy duo have reunited for a brand new comedy TV show, French and Saunders: Funny Women which will air on GOLD on Saturday July 17 at 9pm.

And in a trailer released ahead of the show, fans can see Dawn questioning Jennifer's decision to give herself the lead role in the show that shot them both to fame. 

"Imagine the kind of person who writes a sitcom and gives themselves the lead role, Jennifer," Dawn says. 

To which Jennifer replies, "Awful. I think it's pathetic actually," before confessing it was "because they think nobody else will ever employ them"

As if that wasn't funny enough, Dawn also revealed she initially played Jennifer's daughter in a sketch that led to Absolutely Fabulous, but Jennifer failed to cast her in the hit sitcom long-term.

"But you didn't invite me to play the daughter at all. You used someone else," Dawn confessed before playfully pretending to punch her side-kick. 

Thankfully it's all fun and games as these two are the best of friends and managed to keep in touch even during lockdown.

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.”

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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.