The wheels are certainly still on fire!

Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone are back, the award-winning Absolutely Fabulous has returned to our screens with the original cast members and three specials to celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary. The third special (the first shown at Christmas) has an Olympic flavour, fitting in with the current London 2012 Olympics fever. This is very much expected many shows are doing the same trick, and rightly so. Joining the show for cameos are Dame Tanni Grey Thompson., Dame Kelly Holmes and Stella McCartney.

The plot thus, not remembering about the Olympics; Eddy rents her home to a Hollywood A-lister, it doesn’t go to plan and the absurd situation quickly descends into farcical chaos, all fuelled by Edina’s inability to take in what is going on around her. The duo find their way to a dignitaries and celebrity studded Olympics reception, more than merry on champagne Eddy and Pats get thrown out for harassing Stella McCartney, which leads to them Olympic stadium itself, cue the sprinting Daley Thomson-esque sweat-band clad dream sequences.

As usual Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley are the queens of slapstick and comic timing and it wouldn’t be Ab Fab without Edina’s trademark drunk tumble to the ground and Patsy’s skinny legs buckling underneath her. Wonderful to see Jennifer back on fine form after her gruelling battle with breast cancer and radiotherapy in recent years, she truly is an example to us all; she’s still got it in abundance.

The rest of the cast complement each other and still look Absolutely Fabulous; especially comedy veteran June Whitfield now 86, she is as bewildered as ever as Mrs Monsoon senior, interjecting occasional quips of comedy gold. Jane Horrocks can still squeak and mutter nonsense perfectly as Bubble, her outfits more and more surreal. Julia Sawalha still has her sparkle as the forever suffering Saffy, and her sneer of disbelief over her mother and Patsy’s antics never gets old.

The show has always delivered and is guaranteed to be a host of hilarious moments and (occasionally close to the knuckle) dialogue. Joanna Lumley provides such grace to the line-up, the funniest and most iconic scene of this special has to be Patsy lighting the Olympic torch with her cigarette. This I’m sure will be remembered as a stellar Olympic moment in years to come.

Hard to imagine the girls first started tearing it up back in 1992. Ab Fab has shamelessly pushed the boundaries of the outrageous, but is still very much a reflection of the raging insincerity of the celebrity, media and PR world. The false modesty of the champagne swilling “sweetie darling” brigade is very much alive and well, and still pushing the button on the star making machine.

Eddy and Pats are still the ever age –fighting mutton in lamb’s clothing, they intend to burn out, not fade away and we wouldn’t have them any other way.

Did you enjoy the Olympics themed episode? Let us know in the comments below.