Birds of a Feather

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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
Starring	Pauline Quirke Linda Robson Lesley Joseph
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	102 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	95x30 minutes 1x40 minutes 4x50 minutes 1x60 minutes 1x75 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC One
Original run	16 October 1989 – 24 December 1998
External links
IMDb profile

Birds of a Feather is a British sitcom that aired on BBC One from 1989 to 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 to Tracey's expensive house in Chigwell, Essex. Their next-door neighbour, and later friend, Dorien Green (Joseph) is a middle-aged married woman is constantly having affairs with younger men.

1 Cast
2 Plot
3 Episodes
4 Other countries
5 DVD releases
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Cast

Pauline Quirke - Sharon Theodopolopodos
Linda Robson - Tracey Stubbs
Lesley Joseph - Dorien Green
David Cardy - Chris Theodopolopodos (series 1; series 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)
Matthew Savage - Garth Stubbs (from series 2)
Stephen Greif - Marcus Green (1990 Christmas Special)
Nickolas Grace - Marcus Green (series 1, 5 and 7)

[edit] Plot

When Sharon and Tracey's husbands are convicted and imprisoned for armed robbery, Sharon moves in with Tracey so they can support each other. Sharon is married to Chris Theodopolopodos, a Greek Cypriot waster, and before moving in with Tracey lives on a council estate. Tracey meanwhile had risen through society to reach the status of a pampered housewife in the exclusive suburb of Chigwell in Essex, her husband Darryl making money from a conservatory construction business. Tracey has a son, Garth, who after going to boarding school becomes a chef. The sisters’ snobbish, man-eating neighbour is Dorien Green, married to Marcus, who she always cheats on with other men. Dorien is a regular, if uninvited, guest at Tracey’s house.

Sharon and Tracey's maternal aunt, "Auntie Sylvie" (Vivian Pickles), is frequently mentioned and appears twice. Sharon and Tracey's maiden name is Rackham.^[1]

[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. The theme tune is Irving Berlin's "What'll I Do", which from the third series onwards is sung by Quirke and Robson.

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.

[edit] Other countries

Birds of a Feather was sold to over 30 countries worldwide, and the format was sold to countries including Australia (ABC TV), Spain and South Africa. The show is regularly re-run on Australian pay TV.

An American adaptation, called Stand by Your Man was made by Fox. Rosie O'Donnell played hard-up Lorraine Popowski, while Melissa Gilbert-Brinkman played her rich sister Rochelle Dunphy. Sam McMurray played Rochelle's husband Roger, and Rick Hall played Lorraine's husband Artie. The Dorien character was called Adrienne Stone played by Miriam Flynn. The series aired for only eight episodes from 5 April 1992 to 9 August 1992.

[edit] DVD releases

The first series of Birds of a Feather was released by Prism Leisure Corporation on 6 January 2003. Series One was released in Region 4 (Australia) in March 2007.