French and Saunders

French and Saunders
French (left) and Saunders (right)
Created byDawn French
Jennifer Saunders
StarringDawn French
Jennifer Saunders
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series6
No. of episodes48 (not including the compilation specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Running timeVarious
Original release
NetworkBBC2 (1987–1993)
BBC One (1994–2017)
Release9 March 1987 (1987-03-09) –
25 December 2017 (2017-12-25)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is also the name by which the performers are known when they appear elsewhere as a double act. The show was given one of the highest budgets in BBC history to create detailed spoofs and satires of popular culture, movies, celebrities, and art. French and Saunders continued to film holiday specials for the BBC, and both have been individually successful starring in other shows.

In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, the duo were voted among the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. Their last special, French and Saunders Christmas Celebrity Special, aired on 27 December 2005 on BBC One. In 2006, both French and Saunders announced their sketch show was dead and that they had moved on to more age-appropriate material. Their last time performing as a duo, the Still Alive tour, ran initially until late 2008, then resumed in Australia in summer 2009. In 2009, the duo were jointly awarded the BAFTA Fellowship.