Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders have revealed the one skit they 'shouldn't have done' on their comedy show.
The pair left millions in hysterics with their BBC sketch series, satirizing a wide range of topics from films to plastic surgery.
But in a documentary for the BBC series Imagine… the duo admitted they both regretted a 1988 sketch in which they dressed up as sick Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.
The duo added that they are “very happy” that they performed much of their comedy work in the 1980s and 1990s, as they are “now being cancelled.”
Jennifer told Alan Yentob: 'As far as humor goes, I think we're still the same, we still see things on television and wish we were 30 years younger.'
Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders have revealed the one skit they 'shouldn't have done' on their comedy show
In a documentary for BBC's Imagine… series, the duo admitted they both regretted a 1988 sketch in which they dressed up as ailing Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.
In the skit, Dawn dresses up as an aging Ginger and is wheeled onto stage in a chair for an 'event' honoring Hollywood legend Fred Astaire.
Dawn added: “It would be difficult these days to know how to satirize something for the very simple reason that if it was all tense you'd be canceled now.
“You know, everyone's scared right now. I'm very happy that we made our comedy in the time that we did it.
'Not that we were particularly tense, but we weren't afraid of anything.
'You know, any philosophy I would have tried, any person I could have easily dealt with, because partly it is not fraught with hatred, partly because, I hope, there is no poison in it.
“But there's prodding, you know, that's the whole point. That's what comedians are for.'
Jennifer added that there are “a lot more filters to go through,” and she's “certain” they offended viewers at some point.
“I've looked back and thought 'mmmm,'” she added, before noting the 1988 sketch from their French and Saunders show.
In the skit, Dawn dresses up as an aging Ginger and is wheeled onto stage in a chair for an 'event' honoring Hollywood legend Fred Astaire.
Jennifer takes the stage as an older Katherine Hepburn, as the Mamma Mia star explains that she performed the piece as if 'she had Parkinson's'
Jennifer takes the stage as an older Katherine, as the Mamma Mia star explains that she performed the part as if “she had Parkinson's.”
She added: 'We did a sketch where she had Parkinson's and I don't think we should have done that.'
In the documentary, Dawn also revealed she quit her sketch show with comedy partner Jennifer after a skit left her 'humiliated'.
The actress recalled how she became the butt of the joke in the 2008 scene with singer Anastacia before “crying all the way home” and calling out for the series after a decade.
Dawn explained how the show's costume designer 'fell on her back laughing' when the Vicar Of Dibley star dressed up as the American singer.
Saying, 'I looked in the mirror and thought, “Yeah, this isn't it, this isn't what Anastacia looks like.” But instead of finding it funny, I just thought, “Oh, I don't like it”'.
Adding, “It felt like I had no control over the comedy. The joke was on me. I had no control over it in any way.”
Jennifer, who heard the story for the first time, said: '[I] I didn't know it was so dramatic that you decided to end the whole act.”
Dawn continued, “I hated everything about the day and I said I would never do that again. I will never feel so humiliated again.'
“It could have just been hormonal, but I just hated it, and I'd never hated it before.”
In the documentary, Dawn also revealed she quit her sketch show with comedy partner Jennifer after a sketch with singer Anastacia left her 'humiliated'.
Jennifer went on to say that their show ended on TV “long before the infamous skit where TV bosses 'canceled everything'.”
Dawn brand Sketch shows a 'game for young people', while her friend said: 'We thought about it carefully, no one really wants us anymore and the truth is you need a break'.
Written by and starring the duo, French and Saunders first aired in 1987 and saw them parody famous films including Titanic and The Exorcist.
In the programme, Dawn broke down in tears as she opened up about her father's death when she was just 19 years old.
Denys French suffered from depression for years and tragically took his own life in September 1977 at the age of 45.
The actress revealed that she was unaware of her father's illness as he had kept it a secret from her and her brother Gary, telling them that he suffered from headaches and had to lie down occasionally.
She said: 'I grew up with a man who was completely happy and cheerful most of the time and then had 'migraines' at home, where Dad was asleep and the curtains were drawn and you just had to be quiet.
“But I didn't know that because then he could come out and be completely happy again.”
Speaking about his death, Dawn said it was 'shocking and horrible' and left her reeling and 'angry'.
She recalled: 'A grenade went off in our family, it was shocking and terrible, it was the worst thing you could imagine.
“And I was furious and angry and just dripping with sadness and shock at that age.”
However, Dawn said that as she grew older, she learned from her mother the fear Denys had suffered and came to “forgive.”
She became visibly tearful and said: “As I grew up I began to understand the terrible, hellish situation he was clearly in, the struggle he had fought for so long and you forgive it.”
Dawn said Denys had been a huge source of confidence for her and always built up her self-esteem.
She said: 'Being a little fat girl can put you in a really big crack in your self-esteem. I think he knew instinctively that I needed armor.
'I remember he stopped me on the way out the door and told me I was beautiful and that I should appreciate myself. That's why I always thought I was worth something.'
It comes after Dawn revealed she was plotting a return to the small screen.
Speaking on Tonight with Andrew Marr on LBC, Dawn said she hopes the show will air in late 2024 or early 2025, promising she will 'fight to allow people to be as offensive as they want to be'.
She said: “Plans are in the works. I can't tell you too much about it at the moment. But there will be a sitcom at the end of next year or early next year and I'll be in that.'
Dawn spoke today about the state of comedy and recalled the struggle she and Jennifer had to get Absolutely Fabulous on screens.
In the programme, Dawn broke down in tears as she opened up about her father's death when she was just 19 years old.
Denys French suffered from depression for years and tragically took his own life in September 1977 at the age of 45 (pictured with Dawn)
She said, “I remember Jennifer [Saunders] and told me how hard it was to get Absolutely Fabulous off the ground because its characters smoked, drank, fell over and were complete eejits.
“But you know, it all seems so mild now… Let's be inappropriate, let's wear purple, let's push the boundaries a little and laugh at ourselves when we get it a little wrong.”
When asked if comedy has become a bit too vanilla these days, Dawn replied: “No, because there's everything there. There is everything for everyone. I would fight tooth and nail to let people be as offensive as they want.
'Hate? No. I think we know when something creeps into completely unacceptable hate speech. I think we all know when that's the case.
'And of course it's just not funny. Those are the facts. It's just not funny to anyone except the person who thinks it, who usually loses their marbles.'
