Fox Searchlight Pictures and BBC Films are delighted to announce that principal photography has begun on Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie. The first cinematic adventure for the long running and much-loved comedy is shooting on location in the U.K and the south of France for seven weeks. The studios have also released the first look photo, featuring the original stars of the Absolutely Fabulous TV series, Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley.

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie reunites Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley as the iconic Edina and Patsy along with the rest of the original cast that includes Julia Sawalha as Saffy, Jane Horrocks as Bubble and June Whitfield as Mother. The award-winning team behind the camera includes Mandie Fletcher (Blackadder, Absolutely Fabulous) directing from a script by Jennifer Saunders, producers Jon Plowman (Absolutely Fabulous, The Vicar of Dibley) and Damian Jones (The Iron Lady, Belle, Dad's Army) with Steve Milne, Christian Eisenbeiss, Christine Langan, Nichola Martin, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French and Maureen Vincent serving as executive producers. The film will be released in 2016. Here's what Jennifer Saunders had to say in a brief statement.

"I am thrilled and excited to finally start filming. We are all taking our medication and hoping for the best."

Appropriate for their big screen debut, Edina and Patsy are still oozing glitz and glamour, living the high life they are accustomed to; shopping, drinking and clubbing their way around London's trendiest hotspots. Blamed for a major incident at an uber fashionable launch party, they become entangled in a media storm and are relentlessly pursued by the paparazzi. Fleeing penniless to the glamorous playground of the super-rich, the French Riviera, they hatch a plan to make their escape permanent and live the high life forever more! Here's what Claudia Lewis, Fox Searchlight Pictures President of Production, had to say in her statement.

"We're so happy to join Jennifer, Joanna and the Absolutely Fabulous team on their latest and greatest adventures!"

In true Ab Fab style, the cast will be joined by a host of A-list stars from the acting, music and fashion worlds. DanTram Nguyen, Vice President of Production and Katie Goodson-Thomas, Director of Production will oversee the project for Fox Searchlight Pictures. Here's what Christine Langan, Head of BBC Films, had to say in her statement.

"Ab Fab on the big screen is a treat we've been hotly anticipating at BBC Films and we're very proud to join Jennifer and her terrific team for this delicious reunion."

Absolutely Fabulous originated as a TV series, which ran sporadically for six seasons between 1992 and 2012. The series aired in the U.K. on BBC, with American networks such as Comedy Central, BBC America, Oxygen and Logo also running episodes at various points in time. Are you excited to see the adventures of Edna and Patsy on the big screen? Check out the photo and stay tuned for more on Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie.