Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie - BBC1

(Image credit: © 2016 Twentieth Century Fox Fi)

Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley make a welcome return as fashion PR guru Edina and pal Patsy in this big-screen spin-off

Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley make a welcome return as fashion PR guru Edina and pal Patsy in this big-screen spin-off.

Edina, as pathetically needy as ever, has been desperate to win supermodel Kate Moss as a client, but ends up accidentally pushing her into the Thames during a party.

When Moss fails to surface, Edina sends her air-headed assistant Bubble (Jane Horrocks, still radiantly dim) to retrieve her, but Bubble disappears as well.

With the country going overboard mourning for Moss, Edina and Patsy take flight for Cannes, with Edina's granddaughter Lola (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) in tow.

To be honest, the plot is mostly an excuse for an absolutely fabulous stream of cameos from fashion, comedy and acting greats. Those putting in appearances include Stella McCartney, Lily Cole, Jerry Hall, Emma Bunton, Graham Norton, Rebel Wilson, Mark Gatiss, Robert Webb, Kathy Burke, Jon Hamm, Barry Humphries and, the butt of many of the jokes, Lulu.

Fans of the show will enjoy seeing Julia Sawalha and June Whitfield back as well, but it is, of course, Saunders and Lumley who are the stars of the show and, fortunately, they are every bit as comically self-absorbed and self-deluding as ever.

The end result is not quite vintage Bolly, then, but it has plenty of fizz.

This film is screening at 1.50am on BBC1 Scotland.