JENNIFER Saunders has revealed everything about her incredible life, from her friendship with Dawn French to her painful cancer battle and what it’s like to live with her famous TV star husband.
The 66-year-old actress rose to stardom alongside her best mate, Dawn French, on the eighties show French and Saunders.
She then went on to star as Edwina in Absolutely Fabulous opposite Joanna Lumley‘s Patsy.
And now the long term friends French and Saunders will be reunited as panel judges on tonight’s The Masked Singer Christmas Special.
The comedy duo will share a sneaky kiss under the mistletoe as they join Jonathan Ross, Mo Gilligan and Davina McCall to try to guess who is behind the mask.
This year’s contestants are Nutcracker, Star, Turkey Crown, and Christmas Cracker, but the celebs inside the costumes are being kept tightly under wraps.
But while they pucker up for the cameras, they have a competitive streak.
Speaking ahead of the show, Dawn said: “Any rivalry between Jen and I on this show will NOT be friendly… We love each other but a competition is a competition and I will take that beatch down with no mercy.”
Jennifer added: “Dawn is far more up-to-date with the Who’s Who of showbiz, so I’m hoping she’ll give me some suggestions.”
But while they are great friends, they won’t be gathering around the Christmas table together. Jennifer said: “No, we don’t live together… We’re not joined at the hip.”
Dawn, renowned as the Vicar of Dibley, elaborated, “What you normally do at Christmas is you spend it with your family and we’ve got separate families!”
However, the pair, who met at drama school more than 30 years ago, are almost as close as family, spending holidays together. Meanwhile, Dawn is Jen’s eldest daughter’s godparent.
Jennifer will be spending it with her husband Adrian Edmondson who is better known for his roles as The Young Ones and Bottom!
The 66-year-old has also appeared in EastEnders and Jonathan Creek and made his film debut on Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Adrian recounted to The Mirror how he met Jennifer in a comic strip club – where you could “perform alternative comedy on one stage while there were strippers on the other.
We look back at some of the best to ever grace the screen.
Fawlty Towers (1975-1979) – Only two series were made of the beloved institution. However, the cultural impact of the series starring John Cleese and Connie Booth spans decades. It follows rude and intolerant Basil Fawlty (Cleese) as he attempts to improve the reputation of his hotel.
Only Fools and Horses (1981-2003) – The show was crowned by some as the best British sitcom of all time by a TV poll in 2004. Seven series were broadcast on BBC until 1991 with additional sporadic Christmas specials airing until 2003. Sir David Jason starred as ambitious market trader Derek “Del Boy” Trotter whilst Nicholas Lyndhurst played his younger half-brother Rodney. Set in working-class Peckham in south-east London, it follows the highs and lows of the lives of the Trotters’, in particular their brazen attempts to get rich.
Blackadder (1983 – 1989) – Four series were made of the iconic show, created by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson. Each series spans a different historical period as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder (Atkinson) tries to better himself in each society. Accompanied by his dogsbody Baldrick (Tony Robinson), trouble always ensues. A TV poll in 2004 found that Blackadder was voted the second-best British sitcom of all time
Absolutely Fabulous (1992 – 2012) – Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley star as failing PR guru Edina ‘Eddie’ Monsoon and alcoholic fashionista Patsy Stone. The pair embark on heavy-drinking sessions and abuse drugs in a desperate attempt to stay ‘hip’. Eddie constantly chases bizarre fads and fails to lose weight whilst her disappointed and neglected daughter Saffy (Julia Sawalha) looks on.
Little Britain (2003 – 2006) – The premise is simple. A sketch show which features different British people from all walks of life that are engaged in all sorts of comical scenarios. Starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams, the pair created iconic pop culture characters. Viewers loved obnoxious council estate teenager Vicky Pollard, morbidly obese scrounger Bubbles Devere, slimming coach Marjorie Dawes, despondent office worker Carol Beer, disgraced politician Sir Norman Fry, of course the iconic Lou and Andy!
The Catherine Tate Show (2004-2015) – A sketch show starring the likes of Catherine Tate. She made iconic characters such as rowdy schoolgirl Lauren Cooper with her line ‘Am I bovvered?’. Other characters featured Bernie the nurse, the aga saga woman, complaining couple Janice and Ray, and of course her infamous ‘Nan’, Joannie Taylor. The last character herself spawned multiple specials and even a movie.
Gavin and Stacey (2007 – Present) The series tells the story of Gavin (Matthew Horne) and Stacey (Joanna Page). The pair embarked on an online and telephone romance for six months. But when they finally decide to be together properly, their friends and family get in the way. Ruth Jones and James Corden created the beloved show, which has been going for over a decade. The 2019 Christmas special was the most-watched comedy in 17 years and the most-viewed non-sporting event in a decade.
“Needless to say she was one of the comedians not one of the strippers.”
He proposed on horseback, and the couple has three grown-up daughters, Ella, Beattie, and Freya, and live in Chagford, Devon.
Adrian was a tower of strength for Jennifer when in 2009, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
After nine months of treatment brought on menopause and depression, the comic revealed to The Mirror: “You just grit your teeth and bear it. It becomes your job and your job is now getting through this next year of whatever.”
And thankfully, Jennifer has remained healthy and well ever since, and her career has continued to thrive.
As well as releasing Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie in 2016, she has also starred in Netflix drama The Stranger and 2022’s Death on the Nile.
Meanwhile, the couple’s daughters have all stepped into the limelight in their own way too.
Eldest daughter Ella is a singer-songwriter who has supported Jools Holland and her father’s punk-inspired folk act The Bad Shepherds.
Meanwhile Beattie was one of the three main characters in the BBC Three sitcom Josh and also starred in Bridget Jones’s Baby.
Youngest daughter Freya is also an actress, and has appeared in Fate: The Winx Saga and TV series, Delicious.
The Masked Singer Christmas Special will air at 7.30pm on Boxing Day on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.
