Kids of the 90s will remember staying up late to watch the raucous female-dominated sketch show, and then being disappointed when it was taken off the air. But the good news, is that these days any show can make a comeback/reunion/reboot – and the British comedy is one of them.
First airing 20 years ago, Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips, the girls were seen as the Spice Girls of comedy; breaking the glass ceiling in an industry when women were not taken as seriously.
“I don’t think any of us would have pitched an all-girl sketch show ourselves,” Phillips tells The Guardian. “I found the guys happy to employ girls but reluctant to pair up as equals.”
“The overriding mission wasn’t to banner-wave or trash men”, says creator Victoria Pile, “but to promote women as being as good as or better than! In the context of opportunities for funny women on TV at the time, this was a vital task.”
And now the team behind the Emmy-winning show, are “currently working on reunion projects”. And they’ve even got ideas already:
“I think the time has perhaps come for an entirely period-based sketch show: The Big Red One. We used to joke about that. No, I’m still joking.”
Well, tbf, periods are gross-out comedy gold.