Pauline Quirke steps away from acting after revealing dementia diagnosis
Pauline Quirke has been diagnosed with dementia and will be stepping away from acting, her husband has confirmed.
The 65-year-old star was best known for her role in the hit sitcom Birds Of A Feather, playing Sharon Theodopolopodous opposite Linda Robson, who played her sister Tracey.
Steve Sheen, who has been married to Quirke since 1996, said she had been diagnosed with the condition in 2021.
In a statement, he said it was “with a heavy heart” that she was stepping back from her professional and commercial duties because of her diagnosis.
He went on: “We are deeply grateful for the support of her peers, the public and the dedicated staff and Principals at PQA [Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts].
“We kindly request privacy and understanding for Pauline and our family during this difficult period. Pauline just wants to spend time with her family, children and grandchildren.”
Quirke with her husband Steve Sheen
Quirke and her husband, who worked as an executive producer on Birds Of A Feather, have two children together. Their son Charlie is also an actor.
Quirke’s family have pledged future support to Alzheimer’s Research UK and say they will be working alongside the charity to raise funds for research and awareness of dementia.
The statement also drew comparisons with the work done to raise awareness for the cause by the family of late EastEnders actress Dame Barbara Windsor, who died in 2020, after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease six years previously.
Sheen went on: “We are very proud of what our family friend Scott Mitchell is doing with Alzheimer’s Research UK in his late wife Dame Barbara Windsor’s name. So, when we feel able, we will also align ourselves with the charity.”
One of the most recognisable stars of British comedy, Quirke began acting as a child getting her own TV show as a teenager – Pauline’s Quirkes – where she frequently worked with Linda Robson.
Quirke receiving her MBE in 2022. Pic: PA
The pair were brought together again in 1989 in Birds of a Feather, where the roles of mismatched sisters brought together after their husbands are sent to jail for armed robbery turned them into household names.
A female-led comedy, Lesley Joseph played the third lead in the show, as nosey neighbour Dorien Green.
Running for nine years on the BBC, it attracted nearly 20 million viewers at its height. It was rebooted by ITV in 2014 and ran for six more years.
Quirke did not return for a Christmas special in 2020.
In a career spanning over half a decade, Quirke has starred in more than 60 TV and film productions, including Broadchurch, Carrie’s War, North and South, Casualty, Cold Blood, My Family and Emmerdale.
In 1990 Quirke won a British Comedy award for her role in Birds Of A Feather and in 1996 she was nominated for a BAFTA for her performance as a convicted murderess in The Sculptress.
In 1995 Quirke and Robson appeared on the BBC documentary Jobs For The Girls, trying out a new profession each week, frequently with comedic results.
In 2007 The Pauline Quirke Academy Of Performing Arts opened, offering classes in singing, dancing, and acting for children from four to 18. Based in Buckinghamshire, it operates across the country.
The academy said it was “deeply moved by the messages that we have received” following news of Quirke’s diagnosis, adding, “it has been wonderful to see how many lives Pauline has touched through her work”.
They said teaching at the academy would “continue as normal”.
Quirke was awarded an MBE in 2022 in recognition of her work with young people, contributions to entertainment and dedication to charitable causes.
One in two people will be directly affected by dementia – either by developing the condition themselves, caring for someone with it, or both – according to Alzheimer’s Research UK.
A woman who saw a man falling from an upper tier at Wembley Stadium says a similar incident at an Oasis concert over the weekend in which a fan died makes her wonder whether lessons have been learned.
Stephanie Good, 39, said a man fell during a Euro 2020 match between England and Croatia at Wembley in June 2021.
He landed “right next to where we were” on the “stairwell between rows of seats”, she said.
Named as Jon, he reportedly survived but suffered two broken ankles, a fractured femur and fractured pelvis just before kick-off.
Ms Good said she tried to give feedback but was unable to and felt the “emergency response was really lacking”.
Oasis, meanwhile, said they were “shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan” at their Wembley concert on Saturday.
The man reportedly fell from the stadium’s upper tier.
In his 40s, he was found with “injuries consistent with a fall” and pronounced dead at the scene, the Met Police said.
Ms Good, an NHS manager from east London, said what happened at the Oasis gig was “so similar” to what she witnessed that it made her wonder “were lessons learned”?
Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage for the first Wembley night of the Oasis reunion tour. Pic: Lewis Evans
During that incident, among stadium staff “nobody seemed to know what to do”, she told the Press Association.
She thinks the man may have been trying to attach a flag to the front of a stand and “somehow managed to fall straight over”.
She said: “They (staff) didn’t seem well-trained in terms of how to respond to a really big emergency.
“Their stewards were kind of paralysed a little bit by fear, or they just weren’t well trained and didn’t know how to call for paramedics.
“It was us who were sort of shouting at them that they needed to get some paramedics.
“The first person on the scene wasn’t a stadium paramedic or St John Ambulance. It was an off-duty firefighter who had seen the guy fall and ran down to just try and offer some help.”
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Regarding the follow-up, Ms Good said staff moved spectators to other seats but did not ask for witness statements.
She added: “They didn’t seek any input from people who’d seen the incident or the aftermath of it. They didn’t seem interested in speaking to anybody about it.
“I was a bit concerned, because I felt that the emergency response was really lacking.”
She then tried to get in touch to give feedback, but was unable to do so and did not receive a response to a message on social media, she said.
A Wembley spokesperson said: “Wembley Stadium operates to a very high health and safety standard, fully meeting legal requirements for the safety of spectators and staff, and is certified to and compliant with the ISO 45001 standard.
“We work very closely and collaboratively with all relevant event delivery stakeholders – including event owners, local authorities, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and the police – to deliver events to high standards of safety, security and service for everyone attending or working in the venue.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been denied bail ahead of his sentencing on prostitution-related charges.
Judge Arun Subramanian said the hip-hop mogul had failed to show sufficient evidence he is not a flight risk and also cited admissions of previous violence made during his trial.
Combs, 55, has been in prison since his arrest in September last year.
During a two-month trial, jurors heard allegations that he had coerced former girlfriends, including singer and model Cassie Ventura, into having drug-fuelled sex marathons with male sex workers, while he watched and filmed them.
Diddy fell to his knees after the verdict was delivered last month. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
In July, he was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution – but cleared of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking, which carried potential life sentences.
The rapper’s legal team hailed this a “victory” and immediately applied for bail ahead of sentencing, citing his acquittal on the top charges.
After this was denied, they submitted another application last week. Judge Subramanian has now rejected the request again.
In denying the motion for bail, the judge found Combs had failed to show sufficient evidence to counter arguments he is a flight risk, writing in a court filing: “Increasing the amount of the bond or devising additional conditions doesn’t change the calculus given the circumstances and heavy burden of proof that Combs bears.”
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He also found that an argument by the music star’s legal team that the squalor and danger of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where he is being held, did not warrant release.
“The public outcry concerning these conditions has come from all corners,” the judge wrote. “But as Combs acknowledges, MDC staff has been able to keep him safe and attend to his needs, even during an incident of threatened violence from an inmate.”
As well as Combs’s bail application, his legal team has also filed a motion calling for him to be acquitted or given a new trial on the prostitution-related charges only.
The judge has not yet responded to this application.
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How the Diddy trial unfolded
How long could Diddy be jailed for?
Combs is due to be sentenced on 3 October and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
Discussions on sentencing guidelines which followed the jury’s verdict suggest it is unlikely he will be jailed for this long, with an estimate of around two to five years, taking into account time already served.
However, it is ultimately up to Judge Arun Subramanian to decide the rapper’s punishment.
On Friday, Donald Trump was asked during an interview about a potential pardon for Combs following speculation about the issue.
The president said it was unlikely, adding that the rapper was “very hostile” during his presidential campaign.
Combs, who co-founded Bad Boy Records and launched the career of the late Notorious BIG, was for decades a huge figure in pop culture – a Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and business entrepreneur, who presided over an empire ranging from fashion to reality TV.
As well as the criminal conviction, he is also facing several civil lawsuits.
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