Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson, childhood friends who have weathered many storms together, continue to maintain their strong bond.
The duo first crossed paths at the tender age of 10 and were practically inseparable throughout their formative years. Their shared dream of stardom led them to join a drama school together in the 1970s.
Their aspirations became a reality in the 1980s with their hit show Birds of a Feather, which drew tens of millions of viewers per episode, reports the Mirror.
The sitcom revolved around squabbling sisters Sharon Theodopolopodous and Tracey Stubbs as they grappled with their husbands’ imprisonment for armed robbery.
Despite becoming one of the country’s most adored double acts, off-screen tensions simmered, leading to intense fallouts dating back to 1997.
The situation reached boiling point in 2019 over a Birds of a Feather Christmas special.
Pauline opted not to reprise her role, resulting in her lines in the title song being cut, along with images of Tracey and Sharon together. The actress maintained that she wanted to concentrate on her acting school, the Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts.
Daily Mail reports that friends once worried Pauline and Linda’s bond was “irreparable”, fearing they might never reconcile. Yet, the duo has mended their relationship, despite Pauline enduring a difficult three-year period.
This week unveiled Pauline’s 2021 dementia diagnosis, leading to her decision to retire from public life. Her husband issued a heartfelt statement, saying: “It is with a heavy heart that I announce my wife Pauline’s decision to step back from all professional and commercial duties due to her diagnosis of Dementia in 2021.”
Linda, who embarked on a Caribbean cruise earlier this month, was reportedly unaware of Pauline’s health news going public. A past colleague spoke up about their turbulent past, admitting: “Pauline and Linda had a really tempestuous relationship at times. There were rows in toilets and disagreements over contracts but things are now much better.”
Highlighting their enduring connection, the source said: “Very few people know Pauline as well as Linda does, they have literally known one another for 55 years. Surely at a time like this having your best childhood friend around will be very comforting. They started out together and they share a very rare bond.”
Linda and Pauline dismissed rumours of a rift last year when they were spotted enjoying lunch together, with Linda sharing the moment on Instagram.
The Loose Women presenter said: “We had our photo taken together and I got my daughter Roberta to upload it to my Instagram, captioning it: ‘A lovely lunch with my beautiful friends.’ It was our way of saying, ‘There you go, that’ll shut you up!'” Previously, Linda had revealed feelings of envy towards Pauline’s career success in more serious acting roles.
On an episode of Loose Women, she opened up: “So I’ve never really been jealous of Pauline Quirke but I used to be envious of all the roles she got like dramas and everything.”
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She added: “I used to think, ‘Lovely, I’m really pleased for you but I would love to do some drama role as well’. But now I am doing drama roles, so I don’t have to be envious anymore do I! But no jealousy can be a terrible thing really. I was delighted she was so successful but I just wanted a little bit of it as well and I wished I had got that.”
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