Birds Of A Feather (1989)

Review: The girls' return is surprisngly fun

OK, it's not going to change the face of comedy or rock many boats, but it packed in the cheesy groan-inducing gags and Pauline Quirke almost single-handedly carried the half-hour with her natural warmth and funny bones.

1990s comedy returns with a surprisingly funny episode

Birds of a Feather is a sitcom I remember watching in my youth, but at the same time I don't have any really strong memories of it. I was surprised then by how much I enjoyed the return of the series and enjoyed getting to know the characters all over again.

Birds of a Feather review

Contrary to what many critics predicted (and probably wanted), it appears that birds of a feather have not flopped together.

Birds of a Feather review

OK, it's not going to change the face of comedy or rock many boats, but it packed in the cheesy groan-inducing gags and Pauline Quirke almost single-handedly carried the half-hour with her natural warmth and funny bones.

Birds Of A Feather, which began in 1989, has been away from our screens for 15 years. The trio of smashing actresses who carry the show - Linda Robson, Pauline Quirke and Lesley Joseph - must have been preserved in aspic, because none of them looks any older than they did in the Nineties.

The big change here is that Birds was always a BBC comedy. After the sitcom's West End stage success, writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran approached the corporation and were told, implausibly, that Auntie's policy is never to do revivals.

That makes little sense, when you consider that the BBC's most popular drama, Doctor Who, lay dormant for more than a decade before being revived.

Anyway, it's the Beeb's loss, because Birds was as funny and edgy as ever. Sex-mad Dorian had reinvented herself as an erotic author called Foxey Cohen, Tracy was a single mum again and Sharon was still boiling with working-class indignation.

'Mr Cameron says we're all in this together,' she grumbled, 'so how come I never bump into him down by the bins?'

Sitcom stars on return of Birds of a Feather

It has been 15 years since these Birds of a Feather flew the BBC nest but now, to the delight of millions of fans, they have landed a new series on ITV.

BOAF stars reveal reveal what's happened to characters

Sharon's in her council flat and Tracey's still in Chigwell with younger son Travis. But what has become of Dorien? Here, the three Birds tell us more...

The Birds are back!

15 years on, Linda Robson, Pauline Quirke and Lesley Joseph reveal why the time is ripe for a revival.

ITV 'banned references to Scousers and Australians'

Laurence Marks says he had a "huge row" with ITV bosses over the use of comedy stereotypes while writing the new series of classic sitcom Birds Of A Feather.

Matt Willis joins Birds of a Feather cast

Former Busted musician and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! winner Matt Willis has joined the cast of returning sitcom Birds of a Feather.