French and Saunders to reunite

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are to reunite for a comedy special - set in rehab.

The Bafta-winning comic duo, who have not performed together since a Comic Relief sketch in 2009, are to star in a new instalment of The Comic Strip Presents, titled Five Go To Rehab.

"It's great that Dawn and Jennifer are back together again. Viewers have really missed them," an insider told The Sun.

Jennifer's husband Ade Emondson will also appear in the upcoming show - a spoof of Enid Blyton's Famous Five books - which will be filmed this month in Devon before being aired later this year on comedy channel Gold.

Dawn and Jennifer, Britain's most popular female comedy duo, have been working on separate projects since they were last seen on screen in a Comic Relief sketch about Mamma Mia.

Dawn has been working on ITV1 reality show Superstar alongside theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber, while Jennifer has been busy writing the Spice Girls musical Viva Forever and Absolutely Fabulous.

They rose to fame after appearing in The Comic Strip in the 1980s, and the new programme marks the 30th anniversary since the original Comic Strip Presents - Five Go Mad In Dorset.

Commissioning editor Sarah Fraser added: "Five Go To Rehab is one family reunion where extreme havoc reigns."