Birds of a Feather: Lesley Joseph says Quirke was 'missed'
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Pauline Quirke, 61, and Linda Robson, 62, have reportedly fallen out after being friends for 50 years and working together on their sitcom Birds of a Feather. The alleged rift between the colleagues has allegedly also caused the end of Pauline’s character Sharon on the show.
It was very tense and difficult
A source
According to a source, the “real and tense issues” were said to be the reason why Pauline was absent from the show’s 30th-anniversary show in 2019 and the show’s 2020 Christmas special.
The pair play bickering sisters Sharon and Tracey on the ITV sitcom that first launched in 1989.
The show ran for eight years before being later rebooted in 2014 and now makes periodic specials that update fans on their lives.
Pauline’s absence from the Christmas special meant her character, Sharon, was written out of the story as being “stuck on a COVID cruise”.
Also starring in the show is Lesley Joseph, 75, who appears as snooty neighbour Dorien.
However, according to Mail On Sunday, the issues on set made working on set with Linda “unbearable”.
“Both Linda and Lesley were saddened that Pauline didn’t want to return to make a 30th-anniversary episode,’ a source told the paper.
“Linda and Pauline used to be very close, less so Pauline and Lesley.
“It was very tense and difficult to navigate at times.
“Pauline wasn’t approached about the Christmas special.
“The atmosphere on the set had previously become difficult, there were real and tense issues,” the insider added.
Pauline’s son Charlie Quirke appears on the show as Travis Stubbs, Tracey’s son.
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Addressing the situation behind Pauline’s absence, a spokesperson for ITV said: “Unfortunately, Pauline Quirke will not be taking part as she’s stepping back from acting to focus on her 200 nationwide performing arts academies.”
In a recent interview with Express.co.uk, Linda shared it was Pauline’s choice to no longer appear in the show.
She revealed: “Obviously people miss Pauline, but we have to respect that it was her choice not to do it anymore.
“She wants to concentrate on her academy.”
However, the rest of the cast were more than happy to continue filming for the Christmas special which was watched by millions.
Linda continued: “When they [the producers] asked us, we were like, ‘Yeah we would still like to do it. We’re not ready to finish.’
“I think it worked really well as they did a good script, and we did the best we could with it. “
Express.co.uk has contacted representatives for Pauline and Linda for comment.
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