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This article is about the British sitcom. For other uses, see Birds of a Feather (disambiguation).
| Birds of a Feather | |
|---|---|
 Opening credits (1990–98) | |
| Format | Sitcom |
| Created by | Laurence Marks Maurice Gran |
| Developed by | Alomo Productions |
| Starring | Pauline Quirke Linda Robson Lesley Joseph |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 9 |
| No. of episodes | 102 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Allan McKeown Michael Pilsworth Claire Hinson |
| Running time | 95x30 minutes 1x40 minutes 4x50 minutes 1x60 minutes 1x75 minutes |
| Distributor | FremantleMedia |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One |
| Original run | 16 October 1989 – 24 December 1998 |
| Status | Ended |
Birds of a Feather is a British sitcom that aired on BBC One from 1989 until 1998. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers.
The first episode sees sisters Tracey Stubbs (Robson) and Sharon Theodopolopodos (Quirke) brought together when their husbands are sent to prison for armed robbery. Sharon, who lived in an Edmonton council flat, moves into Tracey's expensive house in Chigwell, Essex. Their next-door neighbour, and later friend, Dorien Green (Joseph) is a middle-aged married woman who is constantly having affairs with younger men. In the later series the location is changed to Hainault.
On 3 March 2009, the The Mirror reported that the classic sitcom was set for a return reporting that Lesley Joseph, Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson have all been asked by the team behind the sitcom to make another series [1]. Quirke was reported as saying that they were up for the challenge if the writers came up with good ideas.
On 8 July 2010, Linda Robson confirmed on 'This Morning' that a script has been written for a stage show, which all three actresses are keen to be involved with, but this would depend on the availability of Pauline Quirke, who has just been contracted to 'Emmerdale' for 6 months.
As of January 2011 no word on a new television series or stage show has been announced.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Cast
- Pauline Quirke: Sharon Theodopolopodos
- Linda Robson: Tracey Stubbs
- Lesley Joseph: Dorien Green
- David Cardy: Chris Theodopolopodos (series 1; 7 and 8)
- Peter Polycarpou: Chris Theodopolopodos (series 2 to 1994 Special)
- Alun Lewis: Darryl Stubbs (series 1 to 1994 Special)
- Doug McFerran: Darryl Stubbs (series 7)
- Simon Nash: Garth Stubbs (series 1)
- Matt Savage(from series 2)
- Stephen Greif: Marcus Green (1990 Christmas Special)
- Nickolas Grace: Marcus Green (series 1, 5 and 7)
[edit] Plot
For sisters, Sharon Theodopolopodos and Tracey Stubbs, life is never the same again when their husbands are convicted of armed robbery and sent to prison. Sharon, a common, large and loud-mouthed character from Edmonton, moves into her wealthy sister's luxury home in Chigwell, so the two can give each other support.Sharon has always felt inadequate next to her prettier, elder sister Tracey and felt she had the tougher childhood. Her marriage to Chris, a waster of Greek Cypriot descent, was miserable and childless, due to her "inability" to have children. She is condemned by Chris's family for this but Sharon discovers, during series one, that Chris is the infertile one. Sharon happily cheats on Chris and gives him grief when visiting.
Tracey, however, loves her husband, Darryl, whose legitimate business was building conservatories,(he was a bank robber on the side). He and Tracey have a son, Garth, who becomes a chef after going to boarding school, and ends up marrying Kimberly.
The sisters’ neighbour, is the wealthy, snobbish, man-eating Dorien Green. Dorien is married to the rarely seen Marcus, but is always getting involved with other men. Her marriage was also childless, due to both her own vanity and the lack of affection between her and Marcus. She is a regular, if uninvited, guest at Tracey’s house, and mocks Sharon about her weight, whilst Sharon teases Dorien about her lifestyle and age. This mutual teasing is done in a friendly and playful way rather than a serious or hurtful one, and it is often shown Sharon and Tracey care for Dorien and vice versa. If any of them get into trouble or have a problem, the others are often the first ones to help, regardless of the consequences.
Marcus eventually tires of Dorien's selfishness and infidelity, and leaves her to begin a new life with his secret mistress and love child. Dorien later starts a loving relationship with Richard, which is initially strained due to Richard's children taking an instant dislike to Dorien, which she gladly reciprocates.
There is some uncertainty about what Dorien's maiden name actually is. She states her father's name was Arthur Friedman, but a wedding invitation to Sharon and Tracey reveals her mother's name to be Estelle Kapper. Although Dorien's mother appears on screen only once, she is often mentioned by her daughter, as an icy, domineering woman, and the two clearly have a stormy relationship.
In the series seven episode, "Porridge" Darryl and Chris are released early from prison, and are determined to start afresh. Chris feels remorse for his crimes and for not treating Sharon better during their marriage. He impresses Sharon by vowing to start anew and gets an honest job as a pizza delivery man. Darryl however decides the only way to treat Tracey is to once again turn to unscrupulous tactics. He attempts to launder several thousand pounds of counterfeit money into Sharon and Tracey's swimming pool business, but is caught and once again imprisoned - along with an innocent Chris, much to Sharon's dismay. Darryl and Tracey's marriage is severely strained after this, and Tracey contemplates leaving Darryl, but decides against it. However she does warn him that she will not stay faithful.
Sharon and Tracey's maternal aunt, "Auntie Sylvie" (Vivian Pickles), is frequently mentioned and appears twice.[2][3]
[edit] Episodes
Main article: List of Birds of a Feather episodes
Birds of a Feather aired for 102 episodes from 16 October 1989 to 24 December 1998. 95 episodes are thirty minutes in length, while one is forty minutes, four are 50 minutes, one is 60 minutes and one is 75 minutes. Most episodes were written by Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran, Gary Lawson & John Phelps, Geoff Rowley, Sue Teddem, Peter Tilbury, Geoff Deane, Tony Millan & Mike Walling, Damon Rochefort and Sam Lawrence. Keith Lindsay & Martin Tomms, Steve Coombes & Dave Robinson, George Costigan & Julia North, John Ross, Frankie Bailey, Miles Tredinnick, Jenny Lecoat, Alun Lewis, Richard Preddy & Gary Howe and Ian Davidson & Peter Vincent & Tony Jordan all wrote one episode each.
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