When Katy Grin remembers having slime dumped on her on a game show, she calls out to Dawn French for revenge. Dawn French was Jennifer Saunders's co-star on the comedy sketch show French and Saunders (1987); from which came the sketch "Modern Mother and Daughter" which inspired Absolutely Fabulous (1992).
The candles that Edina gnaws on in frustration over her diet were made by the props department out of white chocolate, though according to Jennifer Saunders they did not taste very good.
This episode was intended as an homage to Sex and the City (1998), particularly the show's first season in which Carrie Bradshaw often "breaks the fourth wall" speaking directly to camera.
Historical perspective: there is a long tradition for a starving person to eat candles. For hundreds of years lesser quality candles were made of beef tallow, a high calorie fat which is still used in cooking.