So now the end really is nearing and they really are facing the final curtain. After 30 years together, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are knocking the double act on the head before it gets too undignified and are bowing out on a high with a mix of classic and new sketches.

The opening night of their West End run certainly had its absolutely fabulous moments, albeit alongside other quickly forgettable moments.

Bounding on in their high Simon Cowell trousers the duo started in style. Saunders combined glacial beauty with manic slapstick while French, her hair now more orange than chocolate, played the knowing fool.

The backchat flew during their mock-status games. Saunders got an ovation for mentioning AbFab, French trumped her with Vicar Of Dibley, only for Saunders to hit a bullseye: “Sorry — I’m not laughing at The Vicar Of Dibley. I never have and I’m not about to start now.”

After a wonderfully cheeky audience walkabout with a micro-camera, however, the momentum drifted. This was partially down to too much pre-recorded footage. A clip of Saunders doing Madonna was hilarious, but when Saunders repeated the moves onstage it lacked the same fall-about finesse. The set-up was crying out for a cameo from their victim. Likewise a Strictly Come Dancing routine needed the real Anton Du Beke to make the spoof sing.

Yet, whatever director Hamish McColl put in their interval cuppas it helped. A revival of the original AbFab skit with French as the studious Saffy to Saunders’s iconic Edina brought comedy history vividly to life. There were showstopping surprises and a swipe at Ricky Gervais, with French doing the David Brent dance, sarcastically muttering: “That is hilarious, apparently.” Revenge, no doubt, for Gervais joking about French’s weight.

There was depth too, as the twosome played boarding school teens, abandoned over Christmas by rich parents. French, 51, and Saunders, 50, still make marvellous adolescents. And perhaps that is the secret of their success.

They have always had a puerile streak, underlined in a cross-dressing encore as their lecherous fat old men that was as gloriously rude as anything by Little Britain.

One left noting that the duo laid the groundwork for umpteen other comedians, particularly other women.

Among the audience were Jo Brand and Catherine Tate. Without French & Saunders neither would have found it as easy to break into the mainstream.

Until 8 November (0844 579 0089, www.seetickets.com)

French & Saunders show should go on says Lenny

It may have been his wife’s decision to call a halt to one of the most successful double acts in British comedy, but comedian Lenny Henry has made it clear he would like to see her carry on.

Dawn French, Henry’s wife of 24 years, and her stage partner Jennifer Saunders announced their decision to end their successful comedy pairing, which has lasted 30 years, earlier this year.

But speaking at a party to mark the opening night of their last series of performances, Henry made it clear — albeit in typically humorous fashion — that he would like to see the pair carry on entertaining.

He said: “What is all this about them stopping? Who says they should stop? I have been in nearly every French and Saunders audience over the years and I don’t think they should stop.

“They got two standing ovations tonight and it was beautiful. I am so proud. I had already seen the show seven times, but tonight was really joyful.”

French said of the show at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane: “We were very nervous before the show — much more than normal. It felt like we were about to do a comedy exam, but the minute we were on stage it was fine.

“We have made the decision that it is the last show. The whole double act is an extension of our friendship, which still remains.

“We will be making each other laugh forever, but just not in front of an audience.”