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 was put into motion by Roseanne Barr but never got off the ground. However, Barr did incorporate many elements of the show into the ninth season of her eponymous show "Roseanne", in which her character wins the lottery: Saunders and Lumley reprised their characters Edina and Patsy, and Mo Gaffney also appeared in the episode, but not as her character Bo. Two later American sitcoms, "Cybill" and "High Society", also adapted elements of "Absolutely Fabulous" for the American audience. It was announced on 7 October 2008 that an American version of the series was in the works. The series was