BIRDS of a Feather has been axed by ITV after Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson’s bitter fallout, according to reports.
Linda and co-star Lesley Joseph had hoped the much-loved sitcom would be renewed after a Christmas special picked up an impressive 7.9million viewers, despite Pauline’s absence.
But according to the Mail, station bosses don’t see a future without Linda and Pauline starring together as beloved sisters Sharon and Tracey.
A source told the publication: “Without Pauline, the view is that there is no Birds Of A Feather. 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.”
It is claimed Linda and Lesley, who played Dorien Green, touted the idea of continuing with a younger replacement for Pauline.
The Celeb Report has contacted ITV for comment.
Earlier this month Linda broke her silence on the reported feud with Pauline – saying: “It’s a load of old codswallop.”
In her first interview since it was suggested Pauline had fallen out with the BBC1 show’s stars, Linda said they are still friends.
There had been an alleged face-off with Lesley Joseph outside TV studio toilets.
Linda, 63, who has played Tracey Stubbs since 1989, also insists the only reason Pauline, 61, missed last year’s Christmas special of the show was because she wanted to step away from the limelight.
Addressing the “irreconcilable feud”, she told The Celeb Report on Sunday: “Take no notice of what you’ve heard about me and Pauline falling out. It’s a load of old codswallop.
“Pauline just chose not to do Birds Of A Feather. She wants to concentrate on her acting academy, that’s that.
“We’ve known each other since we were ten. We’re friends. Will Pauline return to the show? I don’t know.
“I just know that the Christmas special went down really well. ITV were really, really pleased.”
Pauline and Linda were childhood best friends.
The Londoners met at Islington’s Anna Scher Theatre School in the late Sixties and first appeared on TV together in Pauline’s Quirkes in the mid-Seventies.
But it was Birds Of A Feather, which once attracted 15million viewers a week, for which the pair became most well known.
Yet in February there were claims that their relationship had broken down after an alleged bust-up on set at the Teddington studios. The row was said to be why Pauline refused to take part in the 30th anniversary show in 2019 and the Christmas special a year later. Linda refutes this.
The telly favourite who has launched new podcast Growing Bolder, which celebrates life after 50, is also close to co-star Lesley, 75, who plays snooty Dorien Green.
Linda said: “She is great. Lesley lives close to me in Wandsworth so I’d go with my husband and we leave things on her doorstep.
“It’s mostly funny things like lady’s tweezers to pluck the hair on her chin, them sort of things, funny things.
“And then some flowers and that. But Pauline lives in Buckinghamshire so it’s not as easy to get to hers. I’ve not left any funny things on her doorsteps.”
