Absolutely Fabulous series 4 explained

Series Number:	4
Bgcolour:	33546E
Num Episodes:	6 (+ Christmas special)
Network:	BBC One
Episode List:	List of Absolutely Fabulous episodes

The fourth series of British television sitcom Absolutely Fabulous premiered on BBC One on 31 August 2001 and concluded on 5 October 2001, consisting of six episodes. Originally, Absolutely Fabulous was to end with the third series, then two-part special "The Last Shout" was created to serve as an official finale to the series. However, in 2000, Jennifer Saunders created and wrote a television pilot for a proposed new series, Mirrorball, in which she intended to reunite the cast of Absolutely Fabulous in new roles and a different plot. Saunders, along with Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, Jane Horrocks and June Whitfield, returned for the pilot, but the series was never commissioned. Nevertheless, Mirrorball inspired Saunders to revive Absolutely Fabulous and a fourth series was produced. A Christmas special, "Gay" (titled "Absolutely Fabulous in New York" in the United States), was produced following the fourth series and was broadcast in 2002.

Cast and characters

Main

• Jennifer Saunders as Edina Monsoon
  • Joanna Lumley as Patsy Stone Julia Sawalha as Saffron Monsoon
• Jane Horrocks as Bubble / Katy Grin
• June Whitfield as Mother

Recurring

• Twiggy as herself
• Antony Cotton as Damon
• Naoko Mori as Sarah
• Tilly Blackwood as Lady Candida de Denison-Bender
• Helen Lederer as Catriona
• Harriet Thorpe as Fleur
• Mo Gaffney as Bo
• Christopher Ryan as Marshall
• Lady Victoria Hervey as herself

Guest

• Bob Barrett as Labour Party man
• Stephen Gately as himself
• Michael Greco as himself
• Judy Finnigan as herself
• Richard Madeley as himself
• Dora Bryan as Dolly
• Tim Wylton as Brice
• Crispin Bonham-Carter as Jago Balfour
• Dave Gorman as Rimmer
• Erin O'Connor as herself
• Annegret Tree as herself
• Daphne Selfe as herself
• Pascal Liger as sleazy man
• Sacha Distel as himself
• Christian Lacroix as himself
• Robin Cope as fitness instructor
• Julian Rhind-Tutt as Taylor
• Andrea Gillie as Patsy's secretary
• Jessica Willcocks as Minge
• Marianne Faithfull as God
• Anita Pallenberg as Devil
• Lill Roughley as Jude
• Miles Western as Martin
• Emma Pierson as Kasha
• Josh Neale as Josh
• Melanie Jessop as police woman
• Ashely Clish as Saffron as child
• Christopher Malcolm as Justin
• Celia Imrie as Claudia Bing
• Jeillo Edwards as herself
• Joanna Bowen as JoBo
• Ruby Wax as Beth
• Leigh Lawson as himself
• Dale Winton as himself

"Gay" guest cast

• Christopher Ryan as Marshall
• Mo Gaffney as Bo
• Harriet Thorpe as Fleur
• Helen Lederer as Catriona
• Josh Hamilton as Serge
• Danny Burstein as Martin
• Nathan Lee Graham as assistant at "GUFF"
• Whoopi Goldberg as Goldie
• Debbie Harry as herself
• Graham Norton as himself
• Jared Gold as himself
• Rufus Wainwright as himself
• Alan Hobson as check-in agent (uncredited)
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson as party guest (uncredited)

Episodes

See main article: List of Absolutely Fabulous episodes.

Home media

VHS (United States)

• "Series 4: Part 1" – 5 February 2002^[1]
• "Series 4: Part 2" – 5 February 2002^[2]

VHS (United Kingdom)

• "Series 4" – 19 November 2001
• As part of the "Series 1-4" (8-VHS set) – 25 November 2002^[3]

DVD (Region 1)

• "Series 4" (2-disc set) – 5 February 2002^[4]
  • "Complete Series 4" re-release (2-disc set) – 13 September 2005^[5]
• As part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything" (9-disc set) – 27 May 2008^[6]
• As Part of the "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely All of It!" (10-disc set) - 5 November 2013^[7]

DVD (Region 2)

• "Series 4" (2-disc set) – 8 April 2002
• As part of "Series 1–4" (5-disc set) – 25 November 2002^[8]
• As part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything" (10-disc set) – 15 November 2010^[9]
• As part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything - The Definitive Edition" (11-disc set) – 17 March 2014^[10]

DVD (Region 4)

• "Series 4" (2-disc set) – 8 August 2002^[11]
• As part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything" (9-disc set) – 20 April 2006^[12]
• As part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Complete Collection" (10-disc set) – 5 April 2011^[13]
• As Part of the "Absolutely Everything: Definitive Edition" (11-disc set) – 30 April 2014^[14]

'Gay' special

• United States
  • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Special" – 30 September 2003 (includes 'The Last Shout')
  • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Special" re-release – 13 September 2005 (includes 'The Last Shout')
  • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything – 27 May 2008
  • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely All of It! – 5 November 2013
• United Kingdom
  • DVD - 29 September 2003
  • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything" – 15 November 2010
  • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything - The Definitive Edition" – 17 March 2014
• Australia
  • DVD as part of "Series 5" – 8 April 2004
  • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything" – 20 April 2006
  • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Complete Collection" – 5 April 2011
  • DVD as part of "Absolutely Everything: Definitive Edition" – 30 April 2014

Further reading

• Book: Saunders, Jennifer . Absolutely Fabulous: Continuity . London . . 4 October 2001 . 978-0-7553-1048-7.

See also

• Mirrorball – 2000 television pilot

External links

• Absolutely Fabulous series 4 – list of episodes on IMDb

Notes and References

1. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous - Series 4, Part 1 [VHS] ]. . February 25, 2016.
2. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous - Series 4, Part 2 [VHS] ]. . February 25, 2016.
3. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous Series 1-4 Box Set . . February 25, 2016.
4. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous - Complete Series 4 . . February 25, 2016.
5. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous: Series 4 . . February 25, 2016.
6. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely All of It DVD . blu-ray.com . October 16, 2014.
7. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything . blu-ray.com . February 25, 2016.
8. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous: Series 1-4 Box Set DVD . blu-ray.com . February 25, 2016.
9. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything DVD . February 25, 2016.
10. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything DVD . blu-ray.com . February 25, 2016.
11. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous Series 4 on DVD . dvdorchard.com.au . February 25, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160605132751/http://www.dvdorchard.com.au/prod.asp?PND=103275 . June 5, 2016 . dead .
12. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous Complete Collection on DVD . dvdorchard.com.au . February 25, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150329011611/http://www.dvdorchard.com.au/120474/absolutely-fabulous-complete-collection-bbc-tv-on-dvd . March 29, 2015 . dead .
13. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous Series 1 5 Plus Specials Complete Collection on DVD . dvdorchard.com.au . February 25, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150329070615/http://www.dvdorchard.com.au/177070/absolutely-fabulous-series-1-5-plus-specials-complete-collection-bbc-tv-on-dvd . March 29, 2015 . dead .
14. Web site: Absolutely Fabulous Absolutely Everything The Definitive Edition on DVD . dvdorchard.com.au . February 25, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141109114947/http://www.dvdorchard.com.au/196107/absolutely-fabulous-absolutely-everything-the-definitive-edition-bbc-tv-on-dvd . November 9, 2014 . dead .