Dawn French was taken aback when a fan enthusiastically mistook her for fellow sitcom legend Dame Joanna Lumley. The 68-year-old comedienne, best known for her role as Geraldine Granger in The Vicar of Dibley, recounted the awkward encounter in a humorous video shared on social media over the Bank Holiday weekend.
In the video, French explained: "So I did something on the telly and come out of there, just walking along and [someone shouts] 'Hey you, you! You are absolutely fabulous.' Oh, thank you very much! [And they said] 'No, you are Absolutely Fabulous, Joanna Lumley. That's you! Yeah that's me all right!'" Captioning the post, she wrote: "ABSOLOOOOTLY FABLUSS!!!"
Fans quickly reacted to the post, with one simply writing "Joanna Lumley" alongside crying-laughing emojis. Another referenced a moment from The Vicar of Dibley where French's character is mistaken for a celebrity, writing: "It's like someone thinking you're Alison Moyet all over again!" A third joked: "You've finally made it," while another quipped: "Poor fella probably thinks Joanna Lumley was a lady vicar."
French has a historical connection to Absolutely Fabulous, the sitcom starring Joanna Lumley as Patsy Stone alongside French's comedy partner Jennifer Saunders. The series, which aired sporadically over 20 years, originated from a French & Saunders sketch titled Modern Mother and Daughter, in which French played the straight-laced daughter Saffy. When the project was developed into a full series, Julia Sawalha took over the role. French later made a cameo as a television presenter in the first series and reprised the role for Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie in 2016, alongside guest stars like Rylan Clark, Kate Moss, and Dame Joan Collins.
Joanna Lumley, now 80, began her career with appearances in Coronation Street and The New Avengers. She has since become known for narrating travel documentaries and recently found renewed sitcom success with a starring role in Amandaland.
Meanwhile, Dawn French has expanded her career beyond acting. In addition to French & Saunders and The Vicar of Dibley, she has taken on recent TV roles such as Can You Keep A Secret? and has established herself as an author. Her fifth novel, Enough, was recently released. The book follows a 68-year-old woman named Etta who gathers her family at the beach at sunrise and announces that by sunset, she will no longer be there. French explained on The One Show that the story explores Etta's decision to spare her children from the difficult end of life. French also revealed that her own father's death by suicide gave her "permission" to write the story, noting that her age played a role in penning the novel.
