Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are heading back to the West End together this Christmas, with the pair set to play the Ugly Sisters in Cinderella at the London Palladium. It will be the first time the comedy partners have done panto together, and their first stage reunion in 17 years.
French, 68, said the news came with a message she clearly enjoyed delivering: she and Saunders were doing panto together at the London Palladium, and they would be sharing the Ugly Sisters roles in the festive show. For readers wondering why this reunion matters now, it is because the pair have long been linked on stage and screen, but not on a West End bill like this since 17 years ago.
The project also lands in a venue both women know well. French has done the Palladium panto twice before, while Saunders has appeared there once, but never as a pair. That is part of the pull here: the reunion is not just nostalgic, it is built around a theatre tradition both understand and a Christmas run that will put them in front of a Palladium audience expecting mischief.
French said the script for Cinderella is genius and described it as a kind of festive variety show, a line that goes some way to explaining why she sounded so keen on the return. She also said it would be naughtier than anything she has ever done, partly because Julian Clary will play the Fairy Godfather and, in her words, everything he says is loaded with innuendo. The production promises broad pantomime jokes, but it also leans hard into the chemistry that made French and Saunders a duo audiences remember.
That chemistry is the point, and French made that plain when she said everything is forgivable when you work with someone you love. The line fits a reunion that has clearly been long in the making, even if the source material leaves one practical detail hanging: the exact performance dates for their London Palladium run have not been confirmed. For now, the headline is the one that matters — French and Saunders are back together on a West End stage for Christmas, and they are bringing the Ugly Sisters with them.
French’s remarks came in Good Housekeeping UK’s July issue, alongside discussion of her fifth novel, Enough, published by Penguin Michael Joseph at an RRP of £22. The book follows Etta, a grandmother who gathers her family to announce that it is her last day on Earth, having decided to take her own life. French said some friends were curious about the novel and others answered, “Absolutely not!”, a reaction that shows she is still willing to push into uncomfortable territory even as she returns to festive comedy.
