Jennifer Saunders once considered 'killing off' Ab Fab's Eddie and Patsy

Lumley said during the BFI & Radio Times TV Festival that Saunders once wrote her a message asking her whether they should "kill them off and bury them".

Lumley's response? Patsy and Eddie can "never die".

• Find out more about the BFI & Radio Times TV Festival

"“I utterly adore her [Patsy]," she told Saturday Live presenter and Q&A host Richard Coles. "The thing is, she can’t be destroyed. I hope I’m not saying anything out of turn, but Jennifer said, ‘Shall we just kill them off and bury them?’ and I wrote back the fastest email return I’ve ever written back.

"I said, ‘No, we’ve promised the world we will never die!' Anyway, I think I’ve made that up, but I just said, ‘No, we can’t die!’."

• Jennifer Saunders hints at “age-appropriate” Absolutely Fabulous return

Lumley was speaking as she was inducted into the Radio Times Hall of Fame, an event to celebrate her 50-year career in TV and entertainment.

Quashing any suggestions of retirement, the 72-year-old star said that she would never give up the "dream" of performing.

“The thing is, if I was in a job that I hated or was tedious or tired me out, and was not rewarding and that I couldn’t wait to get my holiday every year to get away from it, I’d retire like a shot," she said. "But as all I’m doing is all I dreamed of doing and being in life: why would I give it up?"

Lumley also confirmed that she would be travelling to Cuba later in the year for a new TV travelogue.