FRENCHING SAUNDERS

Not literally, obv. I must be feeling intergalactic today because every post is about love, love, love. Jennifer Saunders, on my list since childhood thanks to that French & Saunders sketch where they drop half a Tic-Tac and throw shapes to the Home & Away theme tune, is back with a new BBC2 series, The Life And Times Of Vivienne Vyle.

There’s a lengthy interview in today’s Guardian about the show, which is, bizarrely, co-written with House Of Tiny Tearaways’ child-rearing expert Tanya Byron and which spoofs shows like Jeremy Kyle. I’m watching a preview of it tonight so I’ve yet to see if it lives up to its promise, but here’s an excerpt which explains why she’s at the top of my admirational mountain. (Yes, I’ve got one. And what.)

"We wanted it to look like a European art film, but on a low budget. We got a director [Rupert Jones] who had absolutely no experience of shooting TV comedy. The way it looks and the way the character is treated are much more to do with Woody Allen and Pedro Almodóvar than with Absolutely Fabulous."

I think it’s love.

Read the full thing here.