Birds of a Feather - Knocking on Heaven's Door - 01:20 am Wednesday, December 24 on That's TV 2

Pauline Quirke (Actor) .. Sharon Theodopolopodous

Born: July 08, 1958 in London

Best Known For: Playing Sharon in Birds of a Feather.

Early-life: Pauline Perpetua Quirke was born on July 8, 1959, in London. Along with her siblings Sean and Kitty, she was raised by her mother Hetty in a tenement flat with no hot running water. At the age of nine, she joined a drama club arranged by her English teacher and started winning small parts in children's TV shows and Dixon of Dock Green. This led to bigger roles in series such as ITV's You Must Be Joking. In 1976 she was given her own show, Pauline's Quirkes.

Career: In 1980 she made a brief appearance in The Elephant Man. Bigger roles came in Shine on Harvey Moon and Angels. In 1989, she was cast in the sitcom Birds of a Feather alongside best friend Linda Robson; it ran for nine years. In 1996, Quirke earned critical acclaim for her role in psychological drama The Sculptress, and was praised for her performance as a bereaved mother in Our Boy. She also appeared in Office Gossip, Real Women, Maisie Raine, Being April, Down to Earth and The Thieving Headmistress before having a two-year stint in Emmerdale. While appearing in the Yorkshire-based soap her character underwent the trauma of losing a son, which coincided with the actress losing six-and-a-half stone in weight. She's since starred in Broadchurch and the ITV revival of Birds of a Feather.

Quote: On nearing her target weight of 11 stone: "I won't put myself through any surgical procedures if there's an alternative. It's all manageable. I've never been hungry."

Trivia: Quirke suffers from osteoarthritis and has had a hip replaced. She suffers from stage fright. Her son, Charlie, plays Travis in Birds of a Feather.

Linda Robson (Actor) .. Tracey Stubbs

Born: March 13, 1958 in Islington

Best Known For: Playing Tracey in Birds of a Feather.

Early-life: Born Linda Patricia Mary Robson in Islington on March 13, 1958. She attended the fee-paying Anna Scher Theatre School. One of her early acting roles on TV was in a non-speaking part as young girl in 1976 BBC drama Survivors. In the same year, she appeared alongside Pauline Quirke for the first time in Pauline's Quirkes, a magazine-style show for teenagers.

Career: Robson's big break came in 1982 when she took on the part of Maggie in popular ITV comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon. She reprised the role in 1995 in a revived version of the series. She also appeared in IRA drama Harry's Game. She became a household name in 1989 after landing the part of Tracey Stubbs in BBC sitcom Birds of a Feather, alongside Pauline Quirke and Lesley Joseph. The hugely popular series ran for 102 episodes until 1998. She returned to the role of Tracey in a touring version of the sitcom in 2012, and again when the show was revived in 2014. She is a Loose Women panellist and has appeared in a number of reality TV programmes, including Come Dine With Me, the Weakest Link and Comic Relief Does Fame Academy. In 2012, she was a contestant on I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

Quote: "I tend not to worry about the future and instead I spend whatever I've got."

Trivia: In November 2014, Robson was a part of Gareth Malone's 'All Star Choir', which recorded a cover version of Wake Me Up to raise money for the BBC's Children in Need. It reached No.1 on the Official UK Singles Chart.

Lesley Joseph (Actor) .. Dorien Green

Born: October 14, 1945 in London

Best Known For: Birds of a Feather.

Early-life: Lesley Diana Joseph was born in London on October 14, 1945 and grew up in Northampton. At the age of seven, she made her stage debut in Hansel and Gretel at the New Theatre in Northampton. After training to be an actor at Lamda, she spent several years playing an assortment of roles at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter.

Career: Joseph made her TV debut in a 1974 episode of Wendy Craig-fronted sitcom And Mother Makes Five. She went on to make appearances in Sadie, It's Cold Outside, The Knowledge and Minder. Her big break came in 1989 when she was cast as man-eater Dorien Green in popular sitcom Birds of a Feather. It ran on the BBC until 1998 but it returned in 2012 as a stage version. The interest generated by the stage version led to ITV commissioning a new series which began airing in January 2014. Away from Birds of a Feather, Joseph has also starred in ITV soap Night and Day, appeared in a number of pantomimes, been a regular guest on Loose Women and co-hosted a radio show on BBC London 94.9 with Christopher Biggins. In 2015, she was a contestant on ITV's celebrity sheepdog trials programme Flockstars.

Quote: "Some people say there are fewer parts for older actresses, but it doesn't seem that way at the moment. I think there has been a renaissance for older women."

Trivia: Joseph supports Tottenham Hotspur.

Charlie Quirke (Actor) .. Travis Stubbs

Samuel James (Actor) .. Garth Stubbs

Jamie Foreman (Actor) .. Lenny

Mark Powley (Actor) .. DS Barry Farmer

Martin Kemp (Actor) .. Vince

Born: October 10, 1961 in Islington, London

Best Known For: Playing Steve Owen in EastEnders and being the bass guitarist in Spandau Ballet.

Early-life: Martin John Kemp was born in Islington, London, on October 10, 1961. He was a shy child until, at the age of seven, his mother started taking him and older brother Gary to acting classes run by Anna Scher, which boosted his confidence. By the time he was 10 he'd appeared in Jackanory, Rumpole Of The Bailey, and Dixon Of Dock Green. He left school at 16 and planned to become a printer, but gave up an apprenticeship to join brother Gary's band The Gentry, who were later renamed Spandau Ballet.

Career: Spandau Ballet became hugely successful, scoring numerous hits. When they split in 1990, Martin and Gary returned to acting, and surprised many critics with their performances as gangster twins Ronnie and Reggie in The Krays. Martin then tried his luck in Hollywood, but his career was put on hold in 1995 when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. In 1998, fully recovered, he accepted the role of Steve Owen in EastEnders, but quit four years later. He has since appeared in Daddy's Girl, Serious and Organised, Family, Brides in the Bath, Love Lies Bleeding and Waterloo Road. Spandau Ballet reformed in 2009 and Kemp came third in Celebrity Big Brother in 2012. He's also turned to directing with the film Stalker.

Quote: "I don't agree with all those entertainers that say they would never let their children anywhere near entertainment. I've had such a fantastic time in this business that I would never stop them doing it."

Seun Shote (Actor) .. Vicar

Laurence Marks (Writer)

Maurice Gran (Writer)

Martin Dennis (Director)

Humphrey Barclay (Producer)

Jon Rolph (Executive producer)

Steve Sheen (Executive producer)

Birds of a Feather: Knocking on Heaven's Door

01:20 am - 01:45 am, Wednesday, December 24 on That's TV 2 (65)

About this Broadcast

Knocking on Heaven's Door
Season 12, Episode 1

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