French and Saunders announce major reunion for the first time in 17 years
Comedy legends Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders will reunite for the first time in 17 years.
The beloved duo have been mainstays in British comedy for more than 40 years, after first rising to prominence in the 1980s.
After launching their comedy sketch show, French and Saunders, in 1978, the pair have gone on to star in a number of hit shows from Absolutely Fabulous to The Vicar of Dibley.
Now, however, the pair have been announced to star in this year’s pantomime at Christmas at the London Palladium as the Ugly Sisters.
Discussing their upcoming performance, they said: ‘We have wished to play the Ugly Sisters for so many years, it feels this is the fulfilment of a dream – a dream our hearts made. Watch out. It won’t be pretty.’
They will be joined by Julian Clary as the Fairy Godmother, as well as the usual favourites Nigel Havers, Paul Zerdin and Rob Madge.
French has previously made two appearances in a pantomime at The London Palladium, as Queen Dragonella in Snow White in 2018 then as Dame Trot in Jack and the Beanstalk in 2022.
Saunders, meanwhile, made her Palladium pantomime debut in 2023 as Captain Hook in Peter Pan.
Asked about French and Saunders making an appearance, Harrison said: ‘We always want to raise the bar for our incredible panto audiences each year, so I’m absolutely delighted that Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders will be starring in this year’s Cinderella.
‘Having two of the nation’s most beloved comedy icons together on the Palladium stage is incredibly exciting. Their legendary chemistry and razor-sharp humour will make this a truly special experience for audiences.’
Last year’s 10th anniversary production of Sleeping Beauty broke the Palladium Pantomime’s own record for the biggest ever audience across a 5-week season, with more than 137,000 patrons attending the show.
This broke the previous record of 132,000 for Robin Hood in 2024, in turn making the show the highest grossing pantomime of all time and achieving the highest-grossing week for any show at the box office.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE: Claudia Winkleman’s chat show debut feels strangely flat but there’s still hope