Mirrorball (TV pilot)

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For other uses, see Mirror ball.

Mirrorball was a sitcom pilot in the United Kingdom directed by Adrian Edmondson and written by Jennifer Saunders. It originally aired on 22 December 2000.

The show is unique in that all of the main cast members (and several supporting cast) from the popular French and Saunders show Absolutely Fabulous were also cast in this show, although the plot and characters were completely different. It was produced as a pilot episode for what Saunders intended to be a new show, but viewers were put off by seeing a cast they were familiar with playing other characters. Mirrorball ended up inspiring Saunders to revive Absolutely Fabulous in 2001, and a full series was never produced.

The show centers around Vivienne Krell (Saunders) and Jackie Riviera (Joanna Lumley), two aging stage actresses who live in vertically adjacent flats. The two are of questionable talent, and their careers seem to be at a standstill. During the course of the pilot, Vivienne has the opportunity to be cast in a new show but delivers a horrifying rendition of the standard "Send in the Clowns", thanks in part to Jackie's off-kilter advice (Jackie shouts at her from off-stage to "Sparkle! SPARKLE!").

Julia Sawalha plays Freda Keill, a more serious actress and friend of the main characters, and Jane Horrocks plays Yitta Hilberstam, a vicious German actress. June Whitfield appears as Dora Vermouth, a former vaudeville actress who spends most of her time intoxicated at the local pub.

Mirrorball is available as an "extra" on the DVD edition of Absolutely Fabulous series 4.