Lesley Joseph pays emotional tribute to Birds of a Feather days in first appearance since Pauline Quirke’s dementia diagnosis
Lesley Joseph has shared fears about her health while addressing rumours about the possibility of a Birds of a Feather reboot.
The 79-year-old actress also made her first TV appearance since the news of her former co-star Pauline Quirke’s dementia diagnosis was revealed on Tuesday, where she talked about being over 70.
Joseph appeared on the Loose Women panel for a special “70-plus” edition of the ITV chat show.
The special edition celebrated 70 years of ITV, with host Janet Street-Porter declaring: “Old age isn’t something to fear it is something to celebrate!”
The appearance comes just days after Quirke’s husband announced she would be stepping away from all professional duties following her 2021 dementia diagnosis.
During the special episode, the panel shared memories of their first television appearances.
Joseph recalled her early career, saying: “My first show was when I joined GMTV and was the glamour correspondent, I travelled around peaking to people on the Orient Express to Paris and pretend to be Joan Collins and spoke to people at the polo.”
She reflected on her journey through television, noting: “Birds was on the BBC and then we has a nine year gap so I came over to ITV for about five years.”
The panel featured an impressive lineup of veteran broadcasters, including Janet Street-Porter, 78, Gloria Hunniford, 84, and Prue Leith, 84.
The panelists watched emotional clips from Birds of a Feather, featuring Joseph as Dorien Green alongside Pauline Quirke as Sharon Theodopolopodous and Linda Robson as Tracey Stubbs.
The nostalgic moment comes as Joseph recently expressed doubts about returning to the beloved sitcom.
Speaking to The Mirror, she explained: “At my age, I don’t know how much longer I have in this business. I’m fit as a flea, but there are a few other things I’d like to do before I retire.”
The 78-year-old also shared her concerns about aging, saying: “The older I get, the more frightened I become of forgetting my lines and making a fool of myself in front of an audience.”
Last week, Pauline Quirke’s husband Steve Sheen announced her retirement from acting following a dementia diagnosis in 2021.
In a statement, he said: “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).”
He confirmed that while her acting career has concluded, her performing arts academy, with approximately 250 academies and over 15,000 students across the UK, will continue operating.
Quirke’s last public appearance was at Windsor Castle in February 2023, where she received an MBE for her contributions to entertainment and charitable causes.
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At the time, and before the diagnosis was made public, her son Charlie penned a poignant statement about his “selfless” mother.
In a touching post, he penned: “To my beautiful mum. I can’t start to tell you how proud I am of my mum getting her MBE today.
“Her services to charity, young people & the entertainment industry. To the most selfless, funniest and most caring person I know.”
He signed off the sweet post: “Mad day to be honest. Here’s to you mum.”