French & Saunders: Back with a Vengeance

Episode One - Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are back and causing havoc at BBC Television Centre. The comedy duo have infiltrated the building and been told by BBC bosses to make a brand-new series.They have a swanky new office and their very own agent (Maggie Steed), but a distinct lack of ideas for their latest show. As if they didn’t have enough on their minds, what with deciding what to have for lunch and checking out what Madonna has been up to lately, their new producer is Liza Tarbuck (Linda Green), who has no idea how to produce a show! With only one parking space between them, a show to make, celebrity guests to cajole and a panicky producer to please, the fabulous funny girls can be found battling with security, propping up the tea bar and hunting the BBC corridors in an attempt to find ideas for the show – they may even find time to write it... Adding to the comedy treats in Episode One are French and Saunders’ hilarious version of Jodie Marsh and Jordan, running a helpline; Dawn complaining about her new neighbours, who happen to be giants; and – a highlight of all French & Saunders’ shows – a movie spoof, starring Jennifer as Nicole Kidman, Dawn as Renee Zellweger and Darren Day as Jude Law in a special remake of Cold Mountain..

Episode Two - Still struggling for ideas for their new BBC One show, and with their producer, Liza Tarbuck, hot on their heels, Dawn and Jennifer battle on to try to come up with some sketches. Meanwhile, Dawn is on a quest to find the perfect chocolate lime and there’s a meeting with the new BBC Director General, Eve Pollard.There’s also a strange visit to a Cher website, featuring the many faces of Cher throughout the ages. And the BBC’s popular antiques series Flog It! gets a French & Saunders make-over.

Episode Three - There are more laughs from Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, as the comedy duo put their own spin on Tarantino’s Kill Bill and TV’s Most Haunted. Plus, Dawn is horrified when Mark Lamarr ignores her in a lift at the BBC, and she discovers that Jennifer has been invited to Buckingham Palace to meet The Queen – without her!

Episode Four - Dawn and Jennifer have to meet with the new Controller of BBC One (Ruby Wax) to pitch their ideas for their new series. In the waiting room, they are up against Basil Brush and also Marco and Scott (Little Britain’s Matt Lucas and David Walliams), who are pitching a slate of ‘pink’ (gay) programming, including new game show Does Your Mother Know? French and Saunders also put their own spin on new BBC One drama King Lear (Shakespeare meets Footballers’ Wives, starring Brian Cox, Michelle Collins, Amanda Holden and Denise Van Outen).

Episode Five - Despite having a new series to write, Dawn is preoccupied with the fact she has been invited to go on Fit Farm but doesn’t really know why. She also fulfils her dream of singing on Top Of The Pops with Anastasia and the movie Troy gets a make-over, with Jennifer as Brad Pitt’s Achilles and Dawn as the ethereal Helen.

Episode Six - Dawn and Jennifer have finally written their new series and it is time to film it in front of a live studio audience. Meanwhile, Dawn has been on a real life-swap with Cilla Black and, although she has had a fantastic time, Jennifer has had to put up with Cilla and her dirty-stop-out ways! After much blood, sweat and tears, and a new series finally in the can, Dawn and Jennifer concentrate on the wrap party – but it looks like it may all end in tears.

After six years without a series, the comedy duo has infiltrated the BBC premises - and they've even managed to acquire their own office. Not so lucky with the car parking space: it's just one between them. However, battles with security, a tough producer to please, and celebrity guests to cajole into making an appearance are all making demands on their time. It's a wonder they found a moment to write anything! Sit back for some seriously funny sketches, spoofs and celebrity appearances as French and Saunders bring you Cold Mountain and Girl with a Pearl Earring as you've never seen them before.

“In terms of British comedy, Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French are royalty.They have class, style, pedigree, longevity; and probably consume as much gin as the Queen Mother did ... Of the two women, Saunders remains the more elusive: a quicksilver character with an alluring mix of bossiness and shyness. Much of the success of the F&S spoofs springs from her chameleon-like talents.We should be licking our lips in anticipation of her take-off of Nicole Kidman in Cold Mountain.”- Herald
"French and Saunders' success reveals something about British comedy that the chattering classes frequently forget. For every viewer who wants to watch comedies that shock or startle, there are many more who simply want to be soothed and reassured ... As French and Saunders grow older, and their comedy grows softer and safer, there's every chance they'll become less fashionable - but there's also every chance that they'll become even more popular, too. With their famously funny spouses and their good deeds for good causes, they're the closest thing we have to a comic aristocracy. Long may they reign."- Independent on Sunday
"It's been eight long years since Britain's first ladies of comedy made a series together, but thank heavens they're back!" -Sun
"Must-See TV. It’s been a long time coming..."- Mail On Sunday
"As always, there's some great moments to look forward to, including more of the girls' hilarious Hollywood film spoofs."- Evening Times
"French and Saunders were hilarious in their prime, and they have endured better than most.They have matured into a high-quality comedy brand, consistently entertaining in an inoffensive way - a female Morecambe and Wise, using their own personas as the basis for most of their material ... we got three or four old-style F&S sketches, amusing in a reassuring way. One, in which Saunders conducts a frantic medical on French, had some wonderfully screwball moments in it; another, a film parody of Cold Mountain, with Saunders as Nicole Kidman and French as a bullish Renee Zellweger, teased and raised a chuckle."- The Times
"...this emerges as a frisky and self-confident return in a television age rather better endowed with female comedians than in Dawn and Jennifer's heyday."- Independent
"It's been six years since their last series, but has it been worth the wait? Yup - especially as joining them are Liza Tarbuck, Mark Lamarr, Cilla Black and Michelle Collins. Getting the F&S treatment this week are mammary models Jordan and Jodie (the belt outfit is a joy to behold); and ladies' man Darren Day becomes Jude Law in a cracking Cold Mountain spoof."- People
"...a nicely dry turn by Maggie Steed, which is almost worthy of a sitcom spin-off in itself." -Independent

Did you know the French and Saunders first called their act The Menopause Sisters?

French & Saunders are Back with a Vengeance and ready to take on Cold Mountain, Kill Bill and Troy. DVD extras include French & Saunders Actually, their full-length 2003 Christmas Special.