Since then, however, she said the corporation, which recently sold off Television Centre to split programme-making between central London and Manchester, had become "unrecognisable".
"It's become top-heavy in such an ugly way," she said. "They went corporate instead of being what they should be, which is a national resource, a place which trains people and curates the best programmes, and encourages talent and does great news and journalism.
"They just became a corporate, executive-run place for idiots. It's just so weird that they could put people off coming into the building. She added: "I mean, what are these titles? How is Alan Yentob still allowed in the building? There are questions that need to be answered! It's absolutely extraordinary and I just don't get it." Turning to the appointment of Tony Hall as director-general, replacing his short-lived predecessor George Entwistle, she went on: "I mean, the new DG said he'd go through it with a knife and cut out loads of people. But I remember when it was fun to be there.
"They'd all be geeky and everybody in the building looked like they really knew something or were learning something and were happy to be there — even though they were paid so little.
"Now they have things like massive workshops for executives and heads of departments on decision-making and you think: 'If you're the ------- head of a department at the BBC and you don't know how to make a decision, why are you in that job? Who hired you? That's the only thing that you have to do!'
"It got so annoying that you were called into these special lunches with the director-general at The Ivy and you were like: '--- off! This is the licence payers' money! I'm paying for the car to take me there — we all are paying for that car. And I'd like an extra bit of budget on my programme please and less of your wheels!'?"
Saunders did not name the former director-general to whom she was referring in her comments.
She began her television career on Channel 4 but is best known for her time at the BBC, during which she spent 20 years making French & Saunders and Absolutely Fabulous, which ran from 1992 to 1995, before returning for three 20th anniversary episodes last year.
In recent years she has also made Jam and Jerusalem for the BBC, as well as being a regular on its Comic Relief fundraising shows. Her husband Adrian Edmondson won the BBC's Celebrity Masterchef series earlier this month. He is perhaps best known for his role as the punk Vyvyan in the BBC comedy The Young Ones.
Asked for her opinion of the BBC's new regional hub in Manchester, Saunders said: "It's very weird and slightly soulless but it's not greatly built.
"Do stop me because I could go on for hours about this. I have been left in rooms doing this rant."
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