Joanna Lumley had doubts about signing up for Absolutely Fabulous and did not "hit it off" straight away with her co-star Jennifer Saunders.
The 70-year-old actress, who is best known for playing Patsy Stone on the popular BBC television sitcom, says her first encounter with Saunders was uncomfortable and awkward.
The sitcom first broadcast in 1992, introduced viewers to Saunders' PR character, Edina Monsoon, and her boozy magazine editor friend, Patsy.
Lumley, who had a race named in her honour at this year's Curragh festival, tells Graham Norton on tonight's chat show: "It was very awkward at the read-through.
"It was just the two of us and she just stared at me. I told my agent I didn't want to do it and she said 'It's just a pilot, just do it'."
Saunders, who also co-wrote the show, added that initially Lumley was not "what I had in mind for Patsy".
"I saw her as a low-life journalist," she said, "But Joanna brought so much more to the role and we had fun inventing the character."
The entertaining duo were on the show to promote their eagerly-awaited big screen adaptation of the hit show, which is set to be released on July 1.
Edina and Patsy are still living the high life, however after getting blamed for a major incident at a fashionable launch party, they become entangled in a media storm and are relentlessly pursued by the paparazzi.
"The funny thing was I had sold the idea of the movie to the studio and the BBC and then realised I hadn't actually asked Kate. Luckily she said yes and was really cool about it," Saunders said.
There is reportedly a whopping 60 celebrity cameos slated to appear alongside the original cast including Dame Edna Everage, Dawn French, Stella McCartney, Perez Hilton, Jerry Hall, Jean Paul Gaultier. Adding a splash of Irish glamour will be Graham Norton himself and eh BBC Correspondent Orla Guerin.
