They rose to fame together starring in the sitcom Birds of a Feather from the late 1980s, and Linda Robson has emphasised just how close she and Pauline Quirke remain to this day. This is despite the latter’s heartbreaking diagnosis with dementia in 2021 that forced the actress to retire from acting.
Linda, 67, revealed that she had recently met up at the pub with her 66-year-old friend along with others in their close-knit circle, and was delighted to find her "giggling and happy" over lunch. "We're all still in touch and we were all still friends and it's been really nice," she told The Mirror.
The Loose Women star shared how Pauline’s son Charlie had picked her up beforehand from the station so that she could visit his mum at home - where she was already with her daughter Emily, granddaughters and husband Steve Sheen. "It was just really, really nice," she said of the reunion.
"She was giggling and happy," reflected Linda. "She's being really well looked after and she did recognise me, which I was really pleased with as well. She's doing well." She added: "I love her so much. Fifty-seven years we’ve been best friends. We were both ten when we met at primary school and we’re still friends now."
Indeed, Linda and Pauline became close as classmates in Stoke Newington, London, and also attended a nearby theatre school together from a young age. They became household names playing sisters Sharon and Tracey in the hit sitcom Birds Of A Feather - which ran from 1989 to 1998, before the series was revived between 2014 and 2020.
WATCH: Pauline Quirke's son Charlie joins her on Loose Women
While Linda is now a regular on Loose Women, it was sadly revealed in January by Pauline’s husband that she had been forced to retire due to her health. "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," wrote Steve in a statement that publicly revealed she was suffering with the condition for the first time.
Dementia now affects just under a million people in the UK, according to the NHS, and two in three sufferers are women. The most common symptoms include difficulties with remembering, thinking and speaking - which can gradually worsen over time and severely impact quality of life.
Pauline, who received an MBE for services to the entertainment industry in 2022, won a British Comedy Award in 1990 for her role in Birds of a Feather, and was nominated for several National Television Awards. She also starred in Broadchurch and Emmerdale during her long career.