Dawn French reveals plans for anti-woke sitcom after the success of French And Saunders and The Vicar of Dibley, saying: ‘I will fight for people to be as offensive as they want to be’

Dawn French has revealed she has plans for a brand new sitcom.

The actress, 66, is best known for starring in much-loved shows French And Saunders and The Vicar of Dibley and is now plotting a return to the small screen.

Speaking on Tonight with Andrew Marr on LBC, Dawn said she hopes the show will air in late 2024 or early 2025.

She said: “Plans are in the works. I can’t tell you too much about it at the moment. But there will be a sitcom at the end of next year or early next year and I’ll be in that.’

Dawn spoke today about the state of comedy and recalled the struggle her good friend Jennifer Saunders had to get Absolutely Fabulous on screens.

The actress is known for her starring role as Geraldine Grainger in the much-loved sitcom The Vicar of Dibley

She found great fame in the sketch show French And Saunders with her good friend Jennifer Saunders

She said, “I remember Jennifer [Saunders] and told me how hard it was to get Absolutely Fabulous off the ground because its characters smoked, drank, fell over and were complete eejits.

“But you know, it all seems so mild now… Let’s be inappropriate, let’s wear purple, let’s push the boundaries a little and laugh at ourselves when we get it a little wrong.”

When asked if comedy has become a bit too vanilla these days, Dawn replied: “No, because there’s everything there. There is everything for everyone. I would fight tooth and nail to let people be as offensive as they want.

‘Hate? No. I think we know when something creeps into completely unacceptable hate speech. I think we all know when that’s the case.

‘And of course it’s just not funny. Those are the facts. It’s just not funny to anyone except the person who thinks it, who usually loses their marbles.’

Dawn is currently recovering from a partial recent knee replacement after being injured while simulating a Vicar Of Dibley stunt at the Paul O’Grady show in 2009.

Until now, the star used steroids to deal with the pain.

She said: ‘It was at a recreation ground [of the Vicar of Dibley] so many, many years later on the Paul O’Grady Show, and I agreed to this idiocy because I’m British and because I’m not a girl, as my brother used to call me when I refused a dare.

She said: “Plans are in the works. I can’t tell you too much about it at the moment. But there will be a sitcom at the end of next year or early next year and I will be in it.”

Dawn is currently recovering from a recent partial knee replacement after being injured while simulating a Vicar Of Dibley stunt at the Paul O’Grady show in 2009

“So I agreed to do this jump, but my left leg buckled under me and has been causing me problems ever since. And I have very severe arthritis in that leg.

“And recently, unfortunately, ten shows before the end of my tour, my leg just gave out and I couldn’t walk anymore. And even though I could have done the show sitting down, I felt like I was cheating the audience.

“So we moved those ten shows to next year and I whizzed off and had the surgery that I’ve been longing for and kind of putting off out of fear.

‘So I had a knee replacement three weeks ago and I’m hobbling around with my crutches and I’m trying to do physio… and I have to keep the faith that it will get better. And it’s a partial knee replacement.

‘I was slightly offended when I was told that I also have a fracture at the back of the knee, called an insufficiency fracture. So my knees are insufficient.’

Elsewhere during the interview, Dawn described her low-key Christmas plans.

The actress is married to Mark Bignell while she shares daughter Billie, 32, with her ex-husband Lenny Henry.

She said, “The Muppet Christmas movie, I love that, and I love the old-fashioned movies It’s A Wonderful Life, but you have to find the time where you’re alone with the fire, and no other people to do that.” And Christmas in our house is full of many people.

‘This year I’m bouncing around a bit, so we’re having lunch in the pub, instead of cooking at home. This is the first time we’ve done that and I’m really excited about it.

“But there will be a lot of people there, so it’s hard to find that moment, isn’t it, you know, you’re alone, you’ve got your Baileys and you’re enjoying an old-fashioned black and white movie.”