Linda Robson breaks silence on friend Pauline Quirke’s dementia diagnosis with emotional statement
LINDA Robson has broken her silence on her friend Pauline Quirke’s diagnosis with dementia.
Last week actress Pauline‘s husband Steve Sheen revealed she would be stepping back from her 50-year career after living with the syndrome since 2021.
Now Linda, 66 – who has known Pauline, 65 since they were 10 – has spoken out in a post on Instagram.
Sharing some snaps of them together, Linda wrote: “This will be the only time I speak on behalf of my best friend, Pauline.
“For the past three years, I’ve been in close contact with her husband, Steve, and have spent time with Pauline.
“It breaks my heart to see her endure such a terrible illness.”
Linda added: “Out of respect for her family and her privacy, I will not be discussing this matter further.”
Pauline and Linda starred together in Birds of a Feather as Sharon Theodopolopodous and Tracey Stubbs.
The sitcom ran on the BBC and then ITV across nearly 30 years.
A statement from Pauline’s husband Steve last week read: “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.
“Pauline has been an inspiration through her work in the film and TV industry, her charity endeavours and as the founder of the very successful Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts (PQA).
“Her talent, dedication, and vision have touched countless lives and will continue to do so through the legacy of her work and through PQA where her vision and guidance has facilitated many young peoples’ progression and interest in the Arts and enhanced their self-confidence.”
In 2007 Pauline launched the Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts.
The academy now has 250 sites with 15,000 students across the UK.
Pauline and Linda starred in Birds of a Feather alongside Lesley Joseph.
The trio had a falling out in 2020 but their rift was healed when Pauline shared her heartbreaking diagnosis with them over lunch.
An insider said they had a “pretty acrimonious falling out in 2020”.
The source went on: “Slowly they started speaking again, and then went out for one or two lovely long lunches.
“Pauline opened up to them both after her heartbreaking diagnosis, and it was very emotional.”
Is it ageing or dementia?
Dementia – the most common form of which is Alzheimer’s – comes on slowly over time.
As the disease progresses, symptoms can become more severe.
But at the beginning, the symptoms can be subtle or mistaken for normal memory issues related to ageing.
The US National Institute on Aging gives some examples of what is considered normal forgetfulness in old age, and dementia disease.
You can refer to these above.
For example, it is normal for an ageing person to forget which word to use from time-to-time, but difficulting having conversation would be more indicative of dementia.
Katie Puckering, Head of Alzheimer’s Research UK’s Information Services team, previously told The Sun: “We quite commonly as humans put our car keys somewhere out of the ordinary and it takes longer for us to find them.
“As you get older, it takes longer for you to recall, or you really have to think; What was I doing? Where was I? What distracted me? Was it that I had to let the dog out? And then you find the keys by the back door.
“That process of retrieving the information is just a bit slower in people as they age.
“In dementia, someone may not be able to recall that information and what they did when they came into the house.
“What may also happen is they might put it somewhere it really doesn’t belong. For example, rather than putting the milk back in the fridge, they put the kettle in the fridge.”