Birds Of A Feather (1989)

BOAF: An old comfy jumper or a breath of fresh air?

Early indications show that this opener was seen by 7.8m/31.9% winning 8.30 slot, but the pessimist in me wonders how many of those millions like me, tuned into see whether ITV had made a smart decision in bringing back this vintage BBC comedy.

How Birds of a Feather came to fly high on ITV

The creators of the Essex-based sitcom took their pitch for a new series to the BBC but were offered only a Christmas special...

Episode review: Birds of a Feather - Gimme Shelter

Depending on how you see it, the narrative of 'Gimme Shelter' is either frustrating, or an immediately recognisable return to the classic show.

Birds of a Feather: ITV sitcom in OK return

Admittedly it's not the least promising premise for a sitcom but much of the material is disappointingly dated.

The sitcom, which ran from 1989 to 1998, gets a reboot for the 21st century. So what's changed in the intervening decade and a half? Very little in terms of the dynamic between Sharon, Tracey and Dorien, even if the last has become a bestselling novelist under her "porn name", Foxy Cohen, and Sharon's back living in a council flat. Still, a few contrivances later, and the trio are reunited in Tracey's suddenly crowded Chigwell home. The Only Way Is Essex? Sadly not on this evidence.

Are sitcom revivals a good idea?

As Birds of a Feather returns to ITV, Michael Hogan considers the troubled history of reviving sitcoms.

After a break of 15 years we return to Chigwell for the further adventures of Tracey, Sharon and Dorien, stars of this unashamedly old-school sitcom. It's like they've never been away, with Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph scarcely missing a beat as they slip into their old roles, though there's a bit of plot jiggery pokery required to get them back under the same roof. Dorien, for one, has been busy researching erotic corker Sixty Shades Of Green...

It's been 15 years since Tracey, Sharon and Dorien graced our screens in what was, back in the day, a rare example of a female-centred sitcom. Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph return, a little older but just as sharp, with each of them slipping easily into their old role as if it was a comfortable dressing gown.

Mouthy Sharon's living in an Edmonton tower block and is clearly down on her luck, her older sister Tracey's still living in Chigwell with son Travis (played by Pauline Quirke's real-life son Charlie), while man-eating Dorien has repackaged herself as Foxy Cohen, author of the sex blockbuster Sixty Shades of Green.

This episode reunites the trio and introduces us to Tracey's other son, Garth, who's played by Busted's Matt Willis. While the humour is hardly cutting edge, it will make a lot of people smile.

Birds of a Feather - Series 10 review

Despite being the first episode in 15 years, it felt like it had never been away.

Birds of a Feather, ITV, review

There are many TV shows we've loved and lost over the years, but Birds of a Feather (ITV) isn't one of them.