Absolutely Fabulous (series 1) years before, to try and escape his mother's clutches. Her long-suffering daughter, Saffron "Saffy", whom Edina is reliant upon, is a Sixth form student and remains at home. The series also the includes Edina's sweet-natured-but-slightly-batty mother (June Whitfield), whom Eddy sees as an interfering burden, and Edina's dim-witted assistant Bubble (Jane Horrocks). The series was conceived from the French and Saunders sketch 'Modern Mother and Daughter', originally written by Saunders and Dawn French. Saunders has stated that the character of Edina Monsoon was based upon Lynne Franks, a PR agent whom she had joined on holiday. The first series premiered
Absolutely Fabulous (series 1) even if they are amusing, will get punished. But the Characters are originals, and AbFab has the courage of its convictions, encouraging audiences to find humor in such recent comedic taboos as substance abuse or mistreated offspring." In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode #47 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes. VHS The first series of "Absolutely Fabulous" was released on VHS in the United Kingdom in two volumes; both of which containing three episodes per tape. These VHS tapes were released on 4 October 1993. The Complete Series 1 was released on VHS on 3 July 1995.