Dawn French reveals how 'humiliating' sketch with Anastacia left her 'weeping all the way home'
28 December 2023, 08:01
Dawn French has revealed how a "humiliating" sketch led to her quitting French & Saunders.
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The actress had filmed a skit with singer Anastacia in 2008 when she dressed up as the musician's famous cowboy look.
But the costume designer "fell on her back laughing" and French said she remembered thinking: "'Yes, this isn't it, this isn't what Anastacia looks like'.
"But instead of finding it funny, I just thought: 'Oh, I don't like it.'
"It just felt like I wasn’t in control of the comedy. The joke was on me. I hadn't controlled it in any way.
The Vicar of Dibley star told a BBC documentary: "I came off-stage, said bye to everyone… got into my car and just wept all the way home.
'Posh people have to prove themselves to me' says Dawn French
"I hated that, I hated everything about the day and I said I'm never going to do that again. I'm never going to feel humiliated like that again.
"I could've just been hormonal, but I just hated it, and I hadn't ever hated it."
Jennifer Saunders, also speaking on French & Saunders: Pointed, Bitchy, Bitter, told her she hadn't realised "it was so dramatic that you decided to end the whole act".
The two formed their much-loved show in 1987 and made a name for their parodies.
It comes after Dawn French told LBC how she wanted to defend offensive jokes after backlash against Ricky Gervais's new show Armageddon, in which he performs a skit about terminally ill children.
Speaking to LBC’s Tonight with Andrew Marr earlier in December, French said: "I would fight tooth and nail for people to be as offensive as they want.
"Hatred, no. I think we do know when something sneaks into completely unacceptable incitement to hatred, I think we all know when that’s the case. And it's just not funny, that’s a fact."
