Jennifer Saunders plans Ab Fab and French and Saunders specials

Jennifer Saunders has announced she is to make two new comedy specials for the BBC.

She will return with a one-off episode of Absolutely Fabulous in the autumn.

That will be followed by a French and Saunders Christmas special.

But the comedienne says she is worried that viewers may go off her humour.

Saunders told Teletext: "We are going to New York with Absolutely Fabulous and Edina suffers a major health crisis. It is all the years of bad living. She undergoes major hospitalisation.

"I worry more these days about what people are going to say. You do what you do, but you don't want to appear hackneyed by doing the same old funny stuff."

Saunders and comedy partner Dawn French both received an honorary Rose D'Or at Saturday's Montreux festival, for their lifetime contribution to British comedy.