Birds of a Feather: Lesley Joseph says Quirke was 'missed'
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If fans were holding out for the return of Birds of a Feather, they better think again as the programme’s writer Laurence Marks has ruled out the chances of a return in the foreseeable future. In a new interview, the 73-year-old screenwriting veteran has said that he has no desire of bringing the show back because the women who fronted the BBC series are in their 60s now.
You move on. I can’t imagine what more we could say
Laurence Marks
After claiming it was “all about sex,” he continued telling The Daily Star: “You move on. I can’t imagine what more we could say.
“Also, the girls are very much older.”
He expressed that when Birds of a Feather had its first run back in 1989, its lead stars were in their 20s, with their “whole sexual life in front of them, and the show was all about sex”.
But now that they’ve gotten older, Laurence seems to think that the concept would no longer apply to the likes of Linda Robson, Lesley Joseph and Pauline Quirke, who fronted the series from 1989 to 1998.
The trio played Tracey Stubbs, Sharon Theodopolopodous, and Dorien Green, respectively.
The series was centred around two sisters who decide to move in together following the arrest of their husbands, who were jailed for armed robbery.
ITV later revived the programme from 2014 to December 2020, during which time the sitcom would air special one-off episodes on particular occasions such as Christmas.
Back in May, it was claimed that ITV had cancelled its initial plans to commission a brand new series of the show due to Pauline’s decision not to reprise her character.
It was rumoured that Pauline had been absent from the Christmas special in 2020 because of an alleged feud between her and Linda, leaving the latter and Lesley Joseph to front the reunion alone.
Linda told Express.co.uk that Pauline’s absence was because she wanted to concentrate on other projects, such as her academy, despite reports claiming she didn’t return because of personal issues with the Loose Women panellist.
Sources claimed that while the broadcaster had hoped that the 62-year-old would eventually change her mind, Pauline was said to have been against the idea of coming back, leaving ITV with no choice but to cancel the planned series altogether.
A source continued telling The Mail On Sunday that bringing the programme back for another season was out of the question because of a supposed feud between Linda and Pauline.
“Without Pauline, the view is that there is no Birds Of A Feather,” the insider shared.
“You cannot have Tracey without Sharon, and there is no way Pauline will be going back. Things are bad between her and Linda.
“Linda and Lesley gave it a go but, despite the figures being good, ITV won’t be recommissioning it.”
The Sun reported in 2021 that Pauline and Linda had fallen out, which had caused tensions behind the scenes.
Linda has since denied this on Good Morning Britain.
Back in July last year she said: “We haven’t had a falling out, Pauline doesn’t want to act any more, she wants to concentrate on her academy.
“You’ve got to respect her wishes.
“We did the Christmas special, they asked us if we’d like to do it and we said yes.”
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