{"id":2110067,"date":"2025-10-23T09:00:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T09:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2110067"},"modified":"2025-10-23T09:00:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T09:00:16","slug":"exclusive-joanna-lumley-reveals-the-future-of-absolutely-fabulous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/exclusive-joanna-lumley-reveals-the-future-of-absolutely-fabulous\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Joanna Lumley reveals the future of Absolutely Fabulous"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"7bf00b23-2c4d-40f4-8500-947fc539a2f8\">Joanna Lumley has dashed hopes of an<em> Absolutely Fabulous<\/em> revival, insisting the cult BBC comedy is over for good.<\/p>\n<p>The actress, who played champagne-swilling Patsy Stone opposite Jennifer Saunders\u2019 Edina Monsoon, made the revelation as she fronted <em>woman&amp;home<\/em>&#8216;s coveted Christmas issue.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" id=\"elk-seasonal\" href=\"\" data-url=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"7bf00b23-2c4d-40f4-8500-947fc539a2f8-2\">Dazzling in a series of fun, festive photographs, the telly and film star said, &#8220;The answer\u2019s no. [Jennifer would] say no, so I&#8217;m saying no for her. It\u2019s over. I never think about <em>Absolutely Fabulous<\/em>.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"pt-3 pb-4 mb-4 border-b border-solid border-[#333]\">\n<span class=\"&#10;after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t-[#333] after:border-t after:border-solid&#10;before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t-[#333] before:border-t before:border-solid&#10;font-article-heading pb-3 !text-base font-bold uppercase sm:text-sm text-[#333] flex\"><br \/>\nYou may like<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">&#8220;Half of [the episodes] I never saw, so when people say Patsy lines to me, I don&#8217;t know what they&#8217;re talking about. I love old Pats. She lives alongside me, but she&#8217;s not me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"42f089eb-6f01-4edf-b485-0c14f9b14faf\">Joanna\u2019s comments come just months after she reunited with Jennifer, who created and starred in the sitcom, and fellow co-stars Julia Sawalha and Jane Horrocks, for <em>Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out<\/em>, a one-off Gold documentary in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>It celebrated the sitcom\u2019s 30-year legacy and paid tribute to June Whitfield, the actress who played Edina\u2019s mother, who died in 2018, two years after Jennifer declared she was \u2018done\u2019 with <em>Ab Fab<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome people might imagine me as Patsy on Christmas Day, rising with three cigarettes going simultaneously and a bottle of Bolly open beside the bed.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-WXv9M4rSVjpZSB96XpyWLB\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-WXv9M4rSVjpZSB96XpyWLB slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Sign up to our free daily email for the latest royal and entertainment news, interesting opinion, expert advice on styling and beauty trends, and no-nonsense guides to the health and wellness questions you want answered.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>At home in Stockwell, south London, with her conductor husband of 39 years, Stephen Barlow, 71, Joanna\u2019s own festive rituals are more restrained. She admitted, \u201cI try not to pop the first bottle of Champagne until after midday. I don&#8217;t always succeed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When I take it out of the fridge, it&#8217;s got my fingerprints on it, I think, \u2018How much harm could one small glass do?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.awin1.com\/awclick.php?awinmid=2961&amp;awinaffid=103504&amp;clickref=womanandhome-gb-5288691779960634189&amp;p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.magazinesdirect.com%2Faz-magazines%2F34207711%2Fwoman-and-home-subscription.thtml%3Fj%3DXWH\" rel=\"sponsored noopener\" target=\"_blank\" id=\"2f2eff8d-36cc-4b0b-a13a-c92a61c36c30\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.magazinesdirect.com\/az-magazines\/34207711\/woman-and-home-subscription.thtml?j=XWH\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"hawklinks\" data-placeholder-url=\"https:\/\/www.awin1.com\/awclick.php?awinmid=2961&amp;awinaffid=103504&amp;clickref=hawk-custom-tracking&amp;p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.magazinesdirect.com%2Faz-magazines%2F34207711%2Fwoman-and-home-subscription.thtml%3Fj%3DXWH\" data-google-interstitial=\"false\" data-merchant-name=\"Magazines Direct\" data-merchant-id=\"6539\" data-merchant-network=\"AW\" data-merchant-url=\"magazinesdirect.com\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout pull-left\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:2538px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:130.30%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/nhSvAzVc5MJr3YZDmC2jrA-1920-80.jpg.webp 1920w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/nhSvAzVc5MJr3YZDmC2jrA-1600-80.jpg.webp 1600w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/nhSvAzVc5MJr3YZDmC2jrA-1280-80.jpg.webp 1280w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/nhSvAzVc5MJr3YZDmC2jrA-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/nhSvAzVc5MJr3YZDmC2jrA-768-80.jpg.webp 768w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/nhSvAzVc5MJr3YZDmC2jrA-415-80.jpg.webp 415w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/nhSvAzVc5MJr3YZDmC2jrA-360-80.jpg.webp 360w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/nhSvAzVc5MJr3YZDmC2jrA-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 710px) 670px, calc(100vw - 30px)\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"inline-layout pull-left\">\n<div class=\"caption-text\">\n<p><strong>Subscribe to woman&amp;home: <\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.awin1.com\/awclick.php?awinmid=2961&amp;awinaffid=103504&amp;clickref=womanandhome-gb-2055452128513497036&amp;p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.magazinesdirect.com%2Faz-magazines%2F34207711%2Fwoman-and-home-subscription.thtml%3Fj%3DXWH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"sponsored noopener\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.magazinesdirect.com\/az-magazines\/34207711\/woman-and-home-subscription.thtml?j=XWH\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"hawklinks\" data-placeholder-url=\"https:\/\/www.awin1.com\/awclick.php?awinmid=2961&amp;awinaffid=103504&amp;clickref=hawk-custom-tracking&amp;p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.magazinesdirect.com%2Faz-magazines%2F34207711%2Fwoman-and-home-subscription.thtml%3Fj%3DXWH\" data-google-interstitial=\"false\" data-merchant-name=\"Magazines Direct\" data-merchant-id=\"6539\" data-merchant-network=\"AW\" data-merchant-url=\"magazinesdirect.com\"><strong>\u00a36 for 6 issues<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><p>(Image credit: David Venni)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"e2bec733-0923-4afe-9a69-8791aba0f658\">In the exclusive interview ahead of the publication of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/target.georiot.com\/Proxy.ashx?tsid=107649&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Famazon.co.uk%2FMy-Book-Treasures-collection-favourite-ebook%2Fdp%2FB0DXGZMT9F%3Ftag%3Dhawk-future-21%26ascsubtag%3Dwomanandhome-gb-1557727516265340469-21\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"sponsored noopener\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/My-Book-Treasures-collection-favourite-ebook\/dp\/B0DXGZMT9F\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"hawklinks\" data-placeholder-url=\"https:\/\/target.georiot.com\/Proxy.ashx?tsid=107649&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Famazon.co.uk%2FMy-Book-Treasures-collection-favourite-ebook%2Fdp%2FB0DXGZMT9F%3Ftag%3Dhawk-future-21%26ascsubtag%3Dhawk-custom-tracking-21\" data-google-interstitial=\"false\" data-merchant-name=\"Amazon UK\" data-merchant-id=\"1027\" data-merchant-network=\"Amazonuk\" data-merchant-url=\"amazon.co.uk\"><em>My Book of Treasures<\/em><\/a> &#8211; a compilation of her favourite quotes, trivia and collected wisdom &#8211; Joanna also spoke about festive childhood memories living in India and Malaysia as the daughter of a major in the 6th Gurkha Rifles.<\/p>\n<p>Sharing details of her most memorable Christmases, Joanna recalled \u201can ice-bound, snow-bound, blizzard-bound Christmas in New York\u201d in 2010 while making her Broadway debut at the age of 64 in 17th-century French-set comedy <em>La B\u00eate<\/em>. Playing Princess Conti alongside David Hyde Pierce and Mark Rylance earned Joanna a Tony nomination.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout \" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"383b8dc2-6ab2-4ca9-80ff-59ccdc8a727b\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:2727px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:149.91%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-1920-80.jpg.webp 1920w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-1600-80.jpg.webp 1600w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-1280-80.jpg.webp 1280w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-768-80.jpg.webp 768w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-415-80.jpg.webp 415w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-360-80.jpg.webp 360w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 710px) 670px, calc(100vw - 30px)\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG.jpg\" alt=\"Joanna Lumley for the Christmas 2025 issue of woman&amp;amp;home\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-1920-80.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-1600-80.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-1280-80.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-768-80.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-415-80.jpg 415w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-360-80.jpg 360w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG-320-80.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 710px) 670px, calc(100vw - 30px)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vbzVhM2QBs4bQnkMhMgHAG.jpg\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>(Image credit: David Venni)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" id=\"elk-ad6688db-9913-4173-80c2-f5e9d7222ddd\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\" href=\"\" data-url=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"229025c4-8300-41b4-8bbc-feb920aaf6c7\">She said, \u201cOne afternoon, I went in to do the matinee, then came out, and the snow was about two feet thick. People couldn&#8217;t get home. I brought my dresser back to my apartment to spend the night because she couldn&#8217;t get across to Queens.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The snow was so bad that when they were scooping up to throw in the Hudson River, they accidentally scooped up a couple of small cars and threw them in. It was extraordinary.<\/p>\n<p id=\"0e3ef9ac-1f26-467f-85d3-d4afcd1f0a55\">\u201cI was 30 when I went to New York for the first time, when I was doing <em>The Avengers<\/em>, I couldn\u2019t believe my eyes. The first time you see it, everything they say in the movies is true. Now, New York is a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She also told us her ultimate Christmas bugbear &#8211; hunger.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA Christmas disaster is arriving at someone\u2019s house at 11 o&#8217;clock and they haven&#8217;t put the turkey in the oven yet. Your heart begins to sink when you realise you won\u2019t eat until 6pm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>You can read Joanna&#8217;s full exclusive interview with <\/strong><\/em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.awin1.com\/awclick.php?awinmid=2961&amp;awinaffid=103504&amp;clickref=womanandhome-gb-5806987874604194416&amp;p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.magazinesdirect.com%2Faz-magazines%2F34207711%2Fwoman-and-home-subscription.thtml%3Fj%3DXWH%26utm_medium%3DAffiliate%26utm_source%3DAwin%26utm_campaign%3DTechRadar%26utm_content%3D103504%26sv1%3Daffiliate%26sv_campaign_id%3D103504%26awc%3D2961_1701435372_37a6ebca4500c4784d68f8251046b16d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"sponsored\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.awin1.com\/awclick.php?awinmid=2961&amp;awinaffid=103504&amp;clickref=womanandhome-gb-5806987874604194416&amp;p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.magazinesdirect.com%2Faz-magazines%2F34207711%2Fwoman-and-home-subscription.thtml%3Fj%3DXWH%26utm_medium%3DAffiliate%26utm_source%3DAwin%26utm_campaign%3DTechRadar%26utm_content%3D103504%26sv1%3Daffiliate%26sv_campaign_id%3D103504%26awc%3D2961_1701435372_37a6ebca4500c4784d68f8251046b16d\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"><em><strong>woman&amp;home<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em><strong> in the Christmas issue of the magazine, on shelves now. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.womanandhome.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joanna Lumley has dashed hopes of an Absolutely Fabulous revival, insisting the cult BBC comedy is over for good. The actress, who played champagne-swilling Patsy Stone opposite Jennifer Saunders\u2019 Edina Monsoon, made the revelation as she fronted woman&amp;home&#8216;s coveted Christmas issue. Dazzling in a series of fun, festive photographs, the telly and film star said, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2110068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2110067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Exclusive-Joanna-Lumley-reveals-the-future-of-Absolutely-Fabulous-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2110067"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2110069,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110067\/revisions\/2110069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2110068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2110067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2110067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2110067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}