Dawn French 'humiliated' over sketch that ended BBC's French & Saunders

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Dawn French was left so ‘humiliated’ after performing a sketch opposite American singer Anastacia that she and Jennifer Saunders decided to axe their hit comedy show.

The comedy icon, 66, has been friends with Jennifer, 65, since they met at Central School of Speech and Drama in 1978 - going on to launch their comedy careers together.

The pair decided to launch BBC sketch show French & Saunders which was so successful and ran air from 1987 until 2017, writes the Mirror.However, in 2004 the pair decided to call time on the show after performing opposite I’m Outta Love singer Anastasia, 55, in a sketch - with only specials and compilation versions of the show airing in the 13 years once their main show was retired.In a new BBC documentary exploring the history of the pair, Dawn explains exactly why she felt she was ridiculing herself in the fateful sketch.Throughout the years of French & Saunders being on air, the funny duo won over fans for their silly sketches, societal observations, and ruthless parodies of hit films.They would also often perform alongside other celebrities and mock major stars like Madonna and Britney Spears through their comedy.Dawn said one particular time when she was dressing up in a scene to wear the same outfit as Anastacia left her feeling “humiliated”.

She explained: "I looked in the mirror and I thought: '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.