The product of Jennifer Saunders’ acerbic wit, Ab Fab also starred Saunders as a boozy fashion PR mogul called Edina Monsoon. Together with her sidekick magazine fashion director Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley), the two are high-functioning addicts who resort to desperate measures to fight off old age.

Julia Sawahala played Edina’s long-suffering daughter Saffy, and Jane Horrocks her foolish PA Bubble.

Now, for the first time since Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016), Saunders, Lumley, Sawalha and Horrocks are getting back together to take a trip – or will it be more of a drunken stagger? – down memory lane.

The one-off special Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out will see them explore how the show got made and paved the way for today’s hit female-led comedies. They will also pay tribute to the late Dame June Whitfield, who starred as Mother.

Other undisclosed stars of the show will join them, as well as celebrity fans, in sharing stories from set and personal reflections on the show’s legacy. The producers have also delved into the archive to dig out original scripts, costumes and unseen clips from rehearsals.

Saunders said: “I loved making Ab Fab but I can't remember a great deal, so much of this retrospective is a revelation to me. Thank you Gold for this kind and helpful programme.”

Executive Producer for Expectation Jon Plowman’s comments might explain why Saunders can’t remember much: “It's extraordinary that something that began 30 years ago is still finding an audience today. We must be doing something right... or wrong.

“Perhaps the secret of our success was the amount of champagne consumed on set before lunch.”

Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out will air on Gold later in 2024.