50 Fun Facts About Absolutely Fabulous

Which supermodel does Edina accidentally knock into the Thames in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie?

Kate Moss topples off a balcony at a designer's launch party and is presumed dead, sending Edina and Patsy on the run. The model, playing herself, turns up alive at the end.

Which champagne is the drink of choice for Edina and Patsy throughout Absolutely Fabulous?

Bollinger is the pair's tipple, usually shortened to Bolly. The same house has a second screen life with James Bond, who first ordered it in Live and Let Die in 1973.

Which actress, once Purdey in The New Avengers, plays Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous?

Joanna Lumley nearly quit after an awkward first read-through, until her agent talked her into filming the pilot. The part was then reshaped around her modelling past.

Which London store, where Patsy gets a 50% discount, do she and Edina haunt in Absolutely Fabulous?

Harvey Nichols is where the pair spend their days shopping instead of working. Edina visits her own office only rarely, and then for just a few hours at a time.

Which singer plays herself in Absolutely Fabulous as the star client who cannot stand Edina?

Lulu keeps coming back as Edina's long-suffering client across the whole run. She returned for the 2016 film too, fuming at being bumped from performing at a launch.

Who created and wrote Absolutely Fabulous while also starring as the trend-chasing Edina Monsoon?

Jennifer Saunders built the sitcom around her own performance as Edina. Executives were wary at first: the Head of Comedy did not think drunk women were funny, the producer recalled.

The kitchen set from Absolutely Fabulous was later reused as the shop in which other British sitcom?

Miranda took over the old stage, turning Edina's kitchen into the title character's shop. Its creator and star had earlier made a guest appearance in Absolutely Fabulous herself.

Atop which Paris landmark does Edina trick Saffron into a topless photo in Absolutely Fabulous?

The Eiffel Tower stunt ends a rare happy mother-and-daughter day of shopping and fine dining. Edina had secretly arranged for a photographer to be waiting.

Which Australian pop star covered the Absolutely Fabulous theme tune for the 2016 film?

Kylie Minogue released her version a few weeks before the film opened. The original TV theme was sung by Julie Driscoll, who first had a hit with the song in 1968.

Which blonde hairstyle, worn with a fringe, is Patsy Stone's trademark in Absolutely Fabulous?

A beehive crowns Patsy in nearly every scene, and it doubles as storage: she keeps her joints tucked inside it.

In Absolutely Fabulous, Edina Monsoon runs her own struggling London firm in which line of work?

Public relations is Edina's trade, though she rarely turns up to do any. She keeps the hopeless Bubble as her assistant because it makes her look more competent.

In Absolutely Fabulous, Patsy Stone holds a cushy job she barely does at what kind of workplace?

A glossy magazine employs Patsy as its fashion director, a post she won by sleeping with the publisher. She goes in so rarely that she once had to ask the way to her own office.

Which veteran of four Carry On films plays Edina Monsoon's mother in Absolutely Fabulous?

June Whitfield played Mother, a character never given a first name, from the first series in 1992. The 2016 film of the sitcom was her last film role.

Which Press Gang actress plays Saffron, Edina's sensible daughter, in Absolutely Fabulous?

Julia Sawalha got the part when the makers chose someone younger than the comedian first lined up to play the daughter. She later voiced Ginger in Chicken Run.

Edina Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous is a die-hard fan of which couturier, who appeared as himself?

Christian Lacroix is the label Edina is forever name-dropping. The designer played himself in two different series of the sitcom.

To which Riviera resort do Edina and Patsy flee the police in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie?

Cannes is where the pair land, hoping to marry Patsy off to money. Filming used the real Hôtel Martinez there.

Which comedian played the daughter in the 1990 sketch that grew into Absolutely Fabulous?

Dawn French was the sensible daughter in Modern Mother and Daughter, opposite the future Edina. In the sitcom itself she appears just once, in a brief first-series cameo.

What does Patsy Stone pass out holding when she burns down Edina's kitchen in Absolutely Fabulous?

A lit cigarette in a sleeping Patsy's hand sets the room ablaze. The next series opens with Edina so fixated on one door handle for the new kitchen that she flies abroad to find it.

Which Spice Girl plays herself as one of Edina Monsoon's celebrity clients in Absolutely Fabulous?

Emma Bunton turns out to have been at school with Saffron, who was her head girl. She came back for the 2016 film, spotting the fugitives abroad.

Which religion does Edina Monsoon, a supposed vegetarian, claim to practise in Absolutely Fabulous?

Buddhism is just one of Edina's New Age enthusiasms. She has also tried feng shui, past-life regression, aura consultations and a sensory deprivation tank.

Which Little Voice star plays Bubble, Edina's hopelessly scatty assistant, in Absolutely Fabulous?

Jane Horrocks returned for the 2016 film, in which Bubble is revealed to have been quietly embezzling from Edina's company for years.

Which synth-pop duo made the 1994 charity single Absolutely Fabulous from sound bites of the sitcom?

Pet Shop Boys released it under the sitcom's own name, with Edina and Patsy in the video. It reached number six in Britain and number two in Australia.

Which star storms out of Edina's Absolutely Fabulous party when asked to play background piano?

Elton John had been lured along to hear lost Beatles tapes. When they are finally played, they hold only Edina singing, because Patsy had recorded over them by mistake.

Absolutely Fabulous aired an anniversary special in July 2012 to tie in with which London event?

The Summer Olympics gave the episode its plot and title, with designer Stella McCartney dropping in for a cameo. One Telegraph critic said it would win no medals for comedy.

In Absolutely Fabulous, Edina and Patsy fly to which city just to find the perfect door handle?

New York is where Edina finally finds and photographs the handle, at the Four Seasons Hotel. She flies home having forgotten Saffron's birthday.

In which city does a spiteful Patsy Stone sell Saffron at a bazaar in Absolutely Fabulous?

Marrakesh is where Edina and Patsy go for a photo shoot that never happens, leaving them lost in the desert. They are saved only when they run into Saffron again.

Which song co-written by Bob Dylan is the theme tune of Absolutely Fabulous?

This Wheel's on Fire was written with Rick Danko of the Band. The TV version reunited the song with Julie Driscoll, whose 1968 recording had reached number five in Britain.

Edina of Absolutely Fabulous insists her house is not in Shepherd's Bush but in which district?

Holland Park is the address Edina loudly corrects people to. Unknown to her, the house legally belongs to Saffron, thanks to an arrangement her second husband made in the divorce.

Besides champagne, which vodka brand is Patsy Stone's other drink of choice in Absolutely Fabulous?

Stolichnaya, shortened to Stolly, is Patsy's fallback, though she will drink whatever is around. Food is another matter: she is seen eating only twice in the entire run.

Ignoring the name Saffron chose, what does Edina call her baby granddaughter in Absolutely Fabulous?

Lola is Edina's preferred name, and she never lets it go. By the 2016 film the girl is 13 and is whisked abroad by her grandmother, along with her credit card.

Which US star tried to remake Absolutely Fabulous, then put Edina and Patsy in her own sitcom?

Roseanne Barr planned a version starring Carrie Fisher and Barbara Carrera that never got made. She folded the idea into her own sitcom's ninth season instead.

Nights out with which girl group inspired the drunken falls in Absolutely Fabulous?

Bananarama were big vodka drinkers, the creator recalled, and she once watched one of them tumble out of a cab bottom first and hit the road.

Edina Monsoon of Absolutely Fabulous is named after which comedian, the creator's husband?

Adrian Edmondson was nicknamed Eddy Monsoon, a pun on his surname. He is also one of the two voices on the sitcom's theme tune.

Which singer plays God when Edina nearly dies skiing in a 1996 Absolutely Fabulous special?

Marianne Faithfull, as God, tells Edina that her time has not yet come. She also sang the theme tune for that special, alongside P. P. Arnold.

What does Patsy, who almost never eats, ask for at Christmas lunch in Absolutely Fabulous?

A slice of turkey leaves the whole table speechless, and Patsy promptly chokes on it. Earlier in the episode a nurse wrongly announces that Patsy has died in hospital.

In Absolutely Fabulous, customs stop Patsy with suspected cocaine, but what is it really?

Talcum powder is all the tests find: Patsy had been cheated when she bought it. She is more upset to realise she actually enjoyed playing ping-pong on the holiday.

In Absolutely Fabulous, Edina's rash order for a batch of Romanian orphans turns out to be what?

A dream explains it all: Edina wakes in a panic inside her new isolation tank. In the nightmare the babies arrive mid-presentation at Saffron's college open day.

At whose funeral does a drunken Edina Monsoon stumble into the open grave in Absolutely Fabulous?

Her father's death leaves Edina strangely unmoved, to Saffron's horror, and she had been banned from the service. Patsy topples into a second open grave nearby.

Which channel aired the first series of Absolutely Fabulous in 1992, before the sitcom moved?

BBC Two showed the first six episodes. The second series was promoted to the corporation's main channel in January 1994.

How does Patsy Stone win the hand of a hugely rich baroness in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie?

By posing as a man called Pat, Patsy marries the richest woman in the world. The joke is on her: the baroness later reveals that she is actually a man too.

Which US cable channel launched Absolutely Fabulous in 1994 with a twelve-episode marathon?

Comedy Central's marathon came some 20 months after the British debut. The sitcom later moved on to other US channels, including the gay-oriented Logo.

Which pilot with the Absolutely Fabulous cast as stage actresses led to the sitcom's revival?

Mirrorball cast the two leads as ageing actresses in adjacent flats. Making it inspired the creator to bring her old characters back, so she dropped it for a fourth series.

What is the name of Edina Monsoon's long-lost son, finally tracked down in a 2002 Absolutely Fabulous special?

Serge fled abroad to escape his mother and works in a second-hand bookshop. Thrilled to hear he is gay, Edina tracks him down, then disowns him in favour of his boyfriend.

Which actress plays Claudia Bing, Edina Monsoon's arch-rival in business, in Absolutely Fabulous?

Celia Imrie's Claudia beats Edina to an industry award even though Edina had bribed the judges. She later poaches most of Edina's clients after Bubble emails her the list.

Which actress plays Jackie, the scheming older sister Patsy idolises, in Absolutely Fabulous?

Kate O'Mara's Jackie arrives homeless one New Year's Eve and raids Edina's bedroom for valuables. Patsy adores her, though Jackie twice tried to kill her with an overdose.

In Absolutely Fabulous, what is really causing the toe pain that puts Edina in hospital?

An acupuncture needle had worked its way from Edina's scalp down to her big toe. Patsy checks in alongside her for a cosmetic treatment that leaves her face covered in burns.

What is the title of Saffron's first play, based on life with Edina, in Absolutely Fabulous?

Self-Raising Flower was meant as a tragedy, but the cast and audience took it for a comedy and it became a hit. Edina had tried to sabotage it, fearing how she would come across.

Which rock singer appeared in a 2002 Absolutely Fabulous special and sang its theme tune?

Debbie Harry replaced Julie Driscoll on the vocal for that special, playing herself on screen too. Her version of the theme was heard again in series five.

Which film star takes racks of clothes while Edina is stuck in her Absolutely Fabulous panic room?

Minnie Driver plays a freebie-hunting version of herself whom Patsy is desperate to style. Sure they would be trapped for days, the pair were in fact locked in for a couple of hours.

In Absolutely Fabulous, which rock star is said to have bought a country estate as a fish farm?

Roger Daltrey's purchase dashes Edina's hopes: she had seduced the gardener Jago believing him rich, only to learn his brother had blown the family fortune.