Helen Lederer teases Absolutely Fabulous return as new Saunders project looms

05 November 2023 , 21:00

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Helen Lederer teases Absolutely Fabulous return as new Saunders project looms

Absolutely Fabulous creator Jennifer Saunders recently teased a spin-off programme and Helen Lederer has revealed she would happily sign up.

The actress, 69, became loved by millions for playing Catriona who often followed around Edina Monsoon, a PR guru to the stars. But while the show hasn't been on air since 2012, minus a film, Helen has hinted that she could find herself involved in Jennifer's side project.

Saunders, 65, recently teased her upcoming project in a chat with Dawn French, saying: "I need to write a film or a series based on Ab Fab, because everyone wants another Ab Fab movie," before adding that while she "can't do that", she will do something related and hinted that Joanna Lumley, who plays notorious editor Patsy Stone could "possibly" also return.

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Helen who is set to share her story in her memoir, Not That I'm Bitter, said: "I don't know how current Sloan Rangers are in the world. Anything Jennifer does will be of huge interest, she's so talented as a writer and as a performer. Yes, I thought what would the story be? The film worked so well and I think it will be her and Joanna, obviously if I get the call, I'll make myself available. I give her my blessing, whatever happens."

Helen Lederer (right) has teased she could make a return to Absolutely Fabulous (BBC)

Reflecting on her time on the show which turned into a star-studded movie, Helen explained that it was a "lovely" job and nobody had any idea just how far the series would go after the pilot was made. "Very soon, it became apparent it was a success," she added before saying: "So it was really nice to be part of it.

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"Those two characters, Catriona and Fleur (Harriet Thorpe) were the people that were there trying to be helpful but we weren't, our characters were pretty pointless. Everyone else was amazing and dynamic," before praising French and Saunders for creating the family unit in June Whitfield who played Edina's mum and Julia Sawalha who played her daughter, Saffy.

Back in 2017, Helen appeared on Celebrity Big Brother alongside the late songstress Sarah Harding, who went on to win the programme. Discussing the show, the comedian said: "The celebrity one is different, people want to see the real side so it's more exposing – you might have already formed an opinion of the so-called celebrity but you can't hide.

The actress starred alongside Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley in the sitcom turned movie (© BBC)

The comedian opened up about her time on Celebrity Big Brother and explained she felt 'loneliness' in the house (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Hea)

"Whatever you decide you're going to be, it gets you in the end, you're living and breathing being in that group, you want to survive." Helen was also in the house with controversial reality star Jemma Lucy, who was known for her heated rows. The actress recalled sitting on the sofa and hearing one argument in the kitchen, one in the bedroom and one that moved to the living area. "It was like a whirlwind," she said before adding: "People were incensed with each other when there are clashes it's because people don't feel they're seen or heard."

Helen recalled her younger housemates would often moan about their parents to her while doing her hair but described the interactions as "gently but bizarre". Although she admits she "started out fine", Helen went on to say that being in the house can become "lonely" if housemates don't become friends with the "dominant" group as the numbers start to reduce.

"I just knew that I experienced loneliness in there," she explained before commenting: "You need to kind of be understood and then if, as part of the survival people have had to regroup in order to survive which is a perfectly decent reasonable aim." But Helen reveals she is still friends with some of her former housemates and explains she worked with Shaun Williamson shortly afterwards while stating that the house is a "pressure cooker".

Ahead of the release of her memoir on April 11, she says it's "quite scary" to reflect on her life as she opens up about breaking barriers while being one of few women in comedy, joking that she had a "death wish" for continuing to push herself in a male-dominated industry. But fans will also read, or hear, of Helen's disasters, which looking back, she says is "very funny". She adds: "My aim is that people will laugh when they read it and relate to my voice. I'm not one of the big players so I feel like I can say what it was like being there but I was there doing the parts."

Helen Lederer: Not That I'm Bitter – A Truly, Madly, Funny Memoir, is due for release on April 11 via Mirror Books.

Daniel Bird