Joanna Lumley: 'Absolutely Fabulous' Film Written Just So She and Co-Star Could Hang Out

"We love so much when we’re together. It’s just brilliant," Joanna Lumley said.

ByABC News
July 20, 2016, 10:23 AM

— -- Joanna Lumley is one half of the “Absolutely Fabulous” duo Patsy and Edina, the beloved bad girls from the international hit TV show. Now they’re taking on the big screen in “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie,” a film that is reportedly so funny, some audience members were asked to leave the theater for laughing too loudly at the London screening.

“I have heard that,” Lumley, 70, said today on “Good Morning America.” “I think they might have partaken in a little liquid refreshment, is what I suspect.”

Her character, Patsy, would certainly approve of that behavior as she keeps Botox and pills readily available in her cosmetics bag in the film.

Lumley said the movie was “pretty much” written purely so she and co-star Jennifer Saunders, who are close friends in real life, could spend time together.

“Our lives are so busy we never get a chance to see each other,” the British actress explained. “And we love so much when we’re together. It’s just brilliant.”

“[We’re] just real friends,” she added. “Just never enough time. We all know this—as we get older, you think, ‘Well, I’ll control my life.’ But the opposite happens. Life controls you. We’re just so busy and rushing. But every time we see each other, we just talk and talk and talk. And it’s funny how these two characters never really leave us.”

"Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie" opens nationwide Friday.