Jennifer Saunders promises to write new “Absolutely Fabulous” script by the end of 2023

Jennifer Saunders is in need of a few surfaces atop which to write, as the British comedy icon has vowed to complete a new Absolutely Fabulous script based on the beloved BBC sitcom by the end of 2023.

The 65-year-old promised her longtime friend and collaborative partner Dawn French that she'd have an initial draft of the project done over the next two months, after French revealed that she often challenges Saunders to work when she can tell her pal needs a push — including a prior deal between the pair that would've seen Saunders pay French £10,000 "if she didn't write the AbFab film," the latter said on their Titting About podcast.

"What would you like to be forced to do?" French asked Saunders on the season 4 finale, titled "Decades," in which they reflected on their pasts and looked toward the future.

Don Smith/Radio Times/Getty Images Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders in 'Absolutely Fabulous.'

"I need to write a film or a series based on AbFab, because everyone wants another AbFab movie. I can't do that, I just don't have a thing. I want to do something related," she clarified.

When French asked if Saunders' beloved Absolutely Fabulous costar, Joanna Lumley, would be involved, she responded, "Possibly, including some AbFab-ness, but not totally AbFab."

French went on to clarify the terms of their new agreement, stating for the record that, upon shaking her hand on the air, Saunders would enter a contract to write "a serious first draft of a film [or TV show] related to AbFab by the 31st of December."

Saunders then got up from her seat, indicating that she was "happy" after grabbing French's hand.

"She's shaking on it," French exclaimed. "Alright, there's a deal for a new AbFab product!"

A representative for Saunders did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

Everett Collection Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley in 'Absolutely Fabulous.'

Following its debut in 1992, Absolutely Fabulous — which followed Saunders and Lumley as Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone, a pair of boozy career women in London — went on became a British TV classic, spawning five overall seasons and four specials through 2012.

Saunders and Lumley returned to star in 2016's Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, which became one of the year's top-grossing movies in the United Kingdom.

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