Dawn French Recalls Terrifying Incident That Nearly Killed Her And Jennifer Saunders

Dawn French has recalled an incident that nearly killed her and fellow comic Jennifer Saunders in the 80s.

The pair starred as a comedy duo and writers for the BBC sketch show French and Saunders. In her latest book The Tw*t Files, the 66-year-old revealed they almost died while working on a film in Spain.

“We made a film for The Comic Strip called A Fistful of Travellers’ Cheques in 1984,” she wrote in an excerpt published by The Mirror.

“We were sharing a villa with two bedrooms – Fatty (Dawn’s nickname for Jennifer) and her then-boyfriend in one room and me in the other. About five days in, we were called to set. A car would pick us up at 6 am and it was my job to be the alarm. I duly woke up and, in an effort not to fall back to sleep, I attempted to sit up.”

Dawn said what occurred next felt like something out of a cartoon show.

The duo were poisoned by a carbon monoxide leak leaving them feeling dazed and muddled. But she thanks her early call time as to why they are alive today.

She continued: “What happened next was very odd. It was as if I’d been thwacked in the face with a frying pan in a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Eventually, I managed to roll onto the floor. I was groggy and confused. I crawled to the door, opened it, and shouted to Jennifer. She mumbled something and then I heard a thud. None of us could stand up, so we crawled outside.

“It later transpired that we were being poisoned by a carbon monoxide leak from a faulty boiler. I’m pretty sure that, if we hadn’t had that early morning call, we wouldn’t be here now because we wouldn’t have attempted to wake up and the gas would’ve finished us off,” she said.

The pair have been comedy partners since the 1980s
The pair have been comedy partners since the 1980s

Comic Relief via Getty Images

During a recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Dawn spoke of how she hoped her new book would “start up an anti-perfection league.”

She explained: “We carry a lot of shame, humiliation, and guilt about our mistakes, and I thought, ‘These mistakes are where I have learnt the most and where the fun is.’

“So, if you can wrangle back some of that shame and shine a light on it, it dissipates. If you own your mistakes, it’s very empowering.”

Dawn French: The Tw*t Files is on sale now.

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We Really, Really Hope This Exciting Victoria Beckham Rumour Turns Out To Be True

There’s no doubt that Victoria Beckham was a standout star from Beckham, a four-part Netflix docu-series that explores all aspects of her husband’s life.

The film charted the highs and lows of David Beckham’s life and career, featuring interviews with his wife, who many feel stole the show due to her humorous charm.

And now, it seems fans may be in for another treat, as reports have claimed she is about to land a documentary series of her own.

According to The Sun, the fashion designer has been approached about starring in a series that will document her life; throwing it back to her Spice Girls fame to building her luxury fashion house and clean luxury beauty and skincare brand.

They claim discussions have been continuous since the summer on a potential series.

An unnamed source also told the publication that the show would allow people to “see, in depth, her wit and sarcasm” – something fans particularly loved about her appearances in Beckham.

The report also suggested many of her celebrity pals could be set to feature, too.

Needless to say the reports – while still unconfirmed – have been met with much excitement online.

HuffPost UK has reached out to Netflix for comment, and is awaiting a response.

When Beckham dropped on the streaming service earlier this month, Victoria amused viewers during a particular moment that saw her claim to have grown up “working class”.

However, David was quick to dispel this myth, leaving her to admit that her father drove her to school in a Rolls Royce.

Beckham is available to watch on Netflix now.

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14 Weird And Wonderful Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Miriam Margolyes

From playing Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter franchise to her always-outrageous TV interviews, Miriam Margolyes is an undisputed national treasure.

Not only did the British-Australian actor earn a Bafta for her role in Martin Scorsese’s 1993 film The Age Of Innocence, but she’s appeared in everything from critically-acclaimed dramas to family comedies and more.

Now aged 82, Miriam is as popular and in-demand as ever. We’ve taken a look back through her career to bring you the facts you never knew about the true showbiz icon…

Her on-screen credits go back to 1965

Miriam pictured in the early years of her acting career
Miriam pictured in the early years of her acting career

Radio Times via Getty Images

After starting out in theatre, Miriam’s first TV role credit was the 1965 British anthology series Theatre 625, in which she appeared as Rita in the episode Enter Solly Gold.

Her first ever big screen role came a few years later, when she played a minor role in the 1969 British comedy A Nice Girl Like Me.

She competed on University Challenge long before she was famous

Miriam Margolyes on University Challenge in the early 1960s
Miriam Margolyes on University Challenge in the early 1960s

The Cambridge alum appeared on the long-running university quiz show’s first series back in 1963 to represent Newnham College.

In typical Miriam fashion, the future Bafta winner dropped an F-bomb in frustration when she botched an answer, which she has long claimed to be the first case of anyone doing so on the BBC.

Then, of course, she dropped another f-bomb on the BBC almost 60 years later

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Miriam has earned herself a reputation of being a delightfully unpredictable interviewee over the years.

On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme last year, she bluntly said that she wanted to say “fuck you, bastard” to the newly-appointed chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who appeared in the hotseat just before her, not realising she was broadcasting to the nation.

She later admitted that she didn’t exactly see the funny side after her explicit blunder, which came after she swearing yet again on ITV’s This Morning earlier in the year… only to do it again last month.

She was in the original cast of Wicked

Miriam with her Wicked co-stars
Miriam with her Wicked co-stars

Dave M. Benett via Getty Images

Miriam appeared in the original London production of Wicked opposite Idina Menzel, Helen Dallimore, Adam Garcia and The Young Ones actor Nigel Planer.

The iconic retelling of The Wizard Of Oz opened at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in September 2006, with Miriam appearing as headmistress Madame Morrible. On opening night Miriam praised the “wonderful” talent in the cast that she was “lucky enough to share the stage with”.

She’s made more than one audio sex tape (well, sort of)

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