Due to Pauline’s dementia battle, Linda is retiring from acting this year and is treading the boards alone.
Pantomime occupies a special place in Linda Robson’s heart after years spent performing with her best pal and Birds Of A Feather co-star Pauline Quirke. But this year Linda is treading the boards alone, as Pauline’s dementia battle has forced her to retire from acting.
The pair were just 10 when they became best friends and went on to share a glittering career together on screen and stage, most famously as sisters Sharon and Tracey in their hit sitcom Birds Of A Feather, which also starred Lesley Joseph as their randy neighbour Dorien. So it’s no wonder Linda, 67, is determined to keep their friendship alive.
Linda responds, “I love her so much. We’ve been best friends for fifty-seven years. When we met in primary school, we were both 10 years old, and we are still friends today.
When Pauline was formally diagnosed with dementia at the age of 61 in 2021, Linda was heartbroken. Linda and Pauline continue to be close friends despite Pauline’s decline, and the two recently shared a pub lunch with friends and family.
It’s been really nice, Linda says, “We’re all still in touch and we’re all still friends.” About a week and a half ago, I saw Pauline. At the station, her son Charlie picked me up. Her daughter Emily and her husband Steve were also present, and it was just really, really nice.
We went to a small local pub, and the only thing they did was put us in the small private room. And we all had a really nice lunch.
Pauline and Linda shared jokes and reminiscences about their adventures in Birds of a Feather and panto because she still recognizes Linda and is able to make her laugh. She was happy and giggling. She is being treated very well, and she recognized me, which was also very encouraging. She is performing well.
Pauline’s son Charlie, who starred with his mum and Linda in ITV’s Birds Of A Feather reboot as Tracey’s son Travis Stubbs, is playing an active role in looking after his mother and will this month embark on a five-day trek to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK in honour of his mum. Linda hopes to join him for some of the way, if her schedule permits. “I’m hoping I’ll be able to go on the march,” says Linda. “Hopefully I’ll see Pauline again before Christmas.”
Linda will play Councillor Chigwell in Aladdin at Dartford’s Orchard West theater this holiday season. With only Christmas Day off, she will perform two shows per day. However, that is not as difficult as Pauline’s strict schedule.
We performed three shows a day at the Hackney Empire, according to Linda. That was fatal. We would leave home at eight in the morning, schedule shows at ten o’clock, two o’clock, and seven o’clock. Additionally, it was exhausting. Pauline told me, “I’m never going to do panto again.” She did, however.
Although it’s a demanding schedule, Linda maintains it by wearing her custom-made Skechers shoes to keep her feet warm and carrying a lot of banter in her back pocket in case she forgets her lines.
Linda says, “I’m just going to enjoy it.” I’ll just say, “I haven’t got a clue what I was supposed to say here!” if I forget my lines. The audience is then enthralled!
Linda, 67, is currently not looking forward to retiring. She says, “I don’t want to retire unless they get tired of me and don’t ask me to.” But I’m hoping not to retire. I want to work forever.
The actress made her Loose Women debut in 2003, and she hasn’t stopped appearing on the panel since 2012. Linda worries about her future on the show now that ITV’s daytime schedule is being cut. The program has already undergone changes, including limiting it to 30 episodes in 2026 and canning the live audience. If we still have jobs, it should be back in January, Linda says. We must wait to learn. Since I worked in a fish and chip shop before, I may have to return to that establishment.
She started watching I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! to support her old friend, actor and Spandau Ballet star Martin Kemp.
Linda responds, “He’s a really nice man. I adore how focused he is on the family. He and his wife Shirlie are both in love with their children. Because Martin was in about three episodes of Birds of a Feather and that his character had sex with Lesley’s character Dorien in the back of a hearse, I’ve met him numerous times over the years, as have Gary and his brother, but more so because of that fact.
When Linda appeared on I’m A Celebrity in 2012, she managed to get news from the outside world via Joe Swash, who was presenting the ITV2 spin-off show Extra Camp . Linda is good friends with Joe’s mum, and has known Joe since he was a child. “Joe lost his virginity at mine,” giggles Linda. “I’m best friends with his mum, Kiffy. We had a big Georgian house and we had a party and Joe locked himself in the bathroom and all the kids were hammering on the door! We’re all very close.”
The mother-of-three then requested that Joe give her a sign that her children had arrived safely while Linda was in the jungle. He would say, “Shares Linda,” and he would shout down. He’d go, ‘ Lind! The kids are here, too. I just wanted to make sure the kids were safe, but he kept getting into trouble because he wasn’t supposed to do that.
Linda wants to get a seat on the Celebrity Gogglebox sofa after finishing her panto. “I’d like to do Gogglebox with Lesley,” Linda says. Because we know each other so well, we’d be really good friends.
