ACTOR Linda Robson has denied ever having a feud with her Birds Of A Feather co-star Pauline Quirke.
The Loose Women panellist, 62, called the rumours of a rift a “load of old codswallop.”
Linda said: “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.
“I just know that the Christmas special went down really well. ITV were really, really pleased.”
Linda claimed it was Pauline’s choice not to appear in the one-off episode and that the cast had to respect her decision.
Pauline’s character Sharon Theodopolopodous was written out of the episode with the excuse she was “stuck on a Covid cruise.”
Linda told the Express: ‘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. 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.”
The bust-up may have begun in 1997 when Pauline was nominated for a BAFTA for her acting in The Sculptress leading her to ask for a larger salary for her role in Birds of a Feather.
Recently, Loose Women panellist Linda left Pauline out of an Instagram post paying tribute to her ‘favourite girls,’ after nearly 50 years of friendship.
Her post included several snaps with her Loose Women co-stars, including an image with Nadia Sawalha from her emotional return to the show last year.
The post was captioned: ‘A few (but not all) of my favourite gals #Galentine.’
Linda’s followers quickly noted that Pauline was absent from the tribute, as one commented: “Can we see one of you and Pauline?”
Another added: “@lindarobson58 where’s Pauline Quirke?”
A third wrote: “The fact Pauline is missing is very disappointing. Friends should be able to conquer anything.”
Pauline and Linda played sisters in the comedy, and as real-life childhood best friends were a perfect fit for the roles.
However, the frequent on-screen fighting between their characters Sharon and Tracey Stubbs may have seeped into the actors’ real lives, prompting fears for the future of the long-running programme.
Insiders said there have been “real and tense issues” which resulted in Pauline refusing to take part in the 30th anniversary show in 2019.
As a result, Linda grew closer to co-star Lesley, who plays man-eating neighbour Dorien Green, and the pair decided not to invite Pauline to star in 2020’s Christmas special.
The fall-out marks an end to Pauline’s much-loved character Sharon, whose recent absences have been explained by the character heading off on a cruise.
The trio rose to fame in 1989 when Birds Of A Feather was first shown on BBC1, it followed the lives of two sisters who move in together after their husbands are jailed for armed robbery and ran for an impressive nine years.
In 2014 it was revived on ITV by its original writers and creators Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran and has continued to be a beloved show.
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