Absolutely Fabulous
Fashion
TV Flash files “Fashion” as a desk essential hour — Absolutely Fabulous (1992–2012) on BBC One, season 1, episode 1, aired 1992-11-12, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E01: listed hour 1 of 33 in the Absolutely Fabulous guide, first listed hour of season 1. It aired 1992-11-12 (30 min). No earlier hour is listed in this guide. Next is “Fat” (S01E02).
Essential hour: “Fashion”. Fashion: Saunders and Lumley treating taste as contact sport, champagne already the plot, BBC import as a U.S. dare.

Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Patsy's new job is not what she was expecting and Eddie turns up in New York where she meets her on the top of a building in a helicopter before heading back to London. There is also a sneak peek at them in 25 years time.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Fashion sit in the Absolutely Fabulous guide?
S01E01 is listed hour 1 of 33 — first listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 1.
When did Absolutely Fabulous S01E01 air?
Fashion aired 1992-11-12 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Is it a U.S. sitcom?
BBC One from 1992, with a U.S. cult via comedy imports. Saunders and Lumley as fashion-PR degenerates, not a Must-See clone.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Sweetie darling: fashion PR as self-destruction, champagne as plot, two women who refuse respectability. Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley treat aging, money, and taste as contact sports. British import comedy that dared U.S. living rooms — female excess without apology, ancestor of every later show that let women be disasters on purpose.
In medias res in a fashion-PR hangover: champagne as plot, two women who refuse respectability, a sensible daughter already judging the lighting. Jennifer Saunders created the BBC sitcom (premiere 1992) and starred opposite Joanna Lumley's Patsy; Julia Sawalha, June Whitfield, and Jane Horrocks completed a household that treats aging, money, and taste as contact sports. Max can keep his drop-day degenerates; this is British import comedy that dared U.S. living rooms via PBS and cable — female excess without…
Filed against
- Jennifer Saunders as Edina Monsoon
Jennifer Saunders’s Edina Monsoon made Absolutely Fabulous a champagne crime scene — fashion PR as self-destruction, two women who refuse respectability, aging and money and taste as contact sports. Sweetie darling as a 1990s import dare.…
- Joanna Lumley as Patsy Stone
Joanna Lumley made Patsy Stone a contact sport on Absolutely Fabulous — champagne as plot, fashion PR as self-destruction, two women who refuse respectability. Jennifer Saunders’s partner in female excess without apology. TV Flash files…
- Julia Sawalha as Saffron Monsoon
Julia Sawalha’s Saffron Monsoon was Absolutely Fabulous’s designated adult — fashion PR as self-destruction, champagne as plot, Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley treating aging, money, and taste as contact sports. British import that…
- June Whitfield as Mother
June Whitfield’s Mother sat through Absolutely Fabulous as the original problem — fashion PR as self-destruction, champagne as plot, Saunders and Lumley treating aging, money, and taste as contact sports. British import excess without…
- Jane Horrocks as Bubble
Jane Horrocks’s Bubble made Absolutely Fabulous sound like a PA with no filter — sweetie darling adjacent, fashion PR as self-destruction, champagne as plot, two women who refuse respectability. 1990s British import excess. TV Flash files…