Dragon’s Den star confirmed for ‘Ab Fab’ movie: ‘It’s happening’
By Will Stroude
With less than two weeks to go until filming for the eagerly-anticipated Ab Fab movie gets underway, it’s been confirmed that former Dragons’ Den star Kelly Hoppen has been added to the cast’s ranks.
The interior designer and entrepreneur has confirmed that she’ll be joining Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders for Patsy and Edina’s first big screen outing next year – but is keeping tight-lipped about from either her role or the movie itself.
“It’s happening,” Hoppen admitted to Digital Spy at the Pride of Britain Awards in London this week (September 28).
“My lips are zipped for a while. So you’ll have to wait and see!”
While it’s not known what role Hoppen will take on, DigitalSpy notes that the former Dragon was mentioned by name in the 2004 special, when Eddy admits that her interior design friend Bettina had been admitted to Broadmoor Hospital for “stabbing Kelly Hoppen with a glass shard at the Design Awards”.
After months of anticipation, show star Joanna Lumley confirmed earlier this summer that the production movie would get underway next month, with the “same old gang” all returning and some filming set to take place in the south of France.
Lumley and show creator Jennifer Saunders last reprised their iconic roles as Patsy Stone Edina Monsoon for a trio of special episodes shown in 2011 and 2012. Saunders revealed back in January that she had completed the first draft of the film’s script, and has since announced that the movie will also star male supermodel David Gandy.
While Jennifer’s admitted she wants Elton John and Lulu to appear in Ab Fab’s big screen debut, sadly the cast will not include former supporting player Dora Bryan, who passed away aged 91 last year.
Teasing more details earlier this year, Saunders said: “[The film] involves all the main characters and virtually everyone that’s ever been in the series – all those characters – and we’re in London, and sometimes we might go to the south of France, I’m hoping.”
She added “I’m waiting for the budget! It could be anywhere – if it’s a big budget, it will be the Bahamas!”
She went on to joke that Lumley allayed her fears about potentially damaging the show’s legacy, saying: “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be awful if it was awful’, but we’re all so old, and Joanna said to me, ‘Do it before we die!’ We’re all on the brink.”
We recently drew up our ultimate wishlist of things we want to see from Patsy and Edina’s first big screen outing – click here to find out our five most important demands.
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