Actress Pauline Quirke reveals dementia diagnosis

Pauline Quirke, celebrated for starring successful TV sitcom Birds of a Feather, has retired from acting pursuing a dementia diagnosis, her hubby has said.

"It is with a dense bosom that I denote my woman Pauline's determination to measurement backmost from each nonrecreational and commercialized duties owed to her diagnosis of dementia successful 2021," Steve Sheen said.

Her diagnosis was not made nationalist astatine the time.

"Pauline has been an inspiration done her enactment successful the movie and TV industry, her foundation endeavours and arsenic the laminitis of the precise palmy Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts (PQA)," Mr Sheen added.

Mr Sheen praised his wife's "talent, dedication, and vision".

He said her play academy had "touched countless lives and volition proceed to bash truthful done the bequest of her enactment and done PQA wherever her imaginativeness and guidance has facilitated galore young peoples' progression and involvement successful the arts and enhanced their self-confidence".

Quirke, 65, is best-known arsenic an histrion for her relation arsenic Sharon Theodopolopodous connected the long-running sitcom Birds of a Feather, winning a British Comedy Award successful 1990 for the role.

It ran from 1989 to 1998 connected BBC One, and past connected ITV from 2014 to 2020.

The bid followed the lives of sisters Tracey and Sharon, played by Linda Robson and Quirke, who person to fend for themselves aft their husbands are arrested for equipped robbery.

Quirke and Robson met arsenic children astatine play schoolhouse successful northbound London.

The brace besides worked unneurotic successful ITV drama play Shine On Harvey Moon, acceptable successful London's post-war East End, from 1982 to 1985.

In 1997, Quirke was nominated for a Bafta grant for playing convicted murderer Olive Martin successful BBC play The Sculptress, based connected Minette Walters' intelligence thriller novel.

She besides received 4 National Television Awards nominations - 3 for Birds of a Feather and 1 for BBC play bid Down to Earth successful 2002.

Quirke besides starred successful BBC detective play Maisie Raine from 1998 to 1999, appeared successful ITV's Broadchurch, and played Hazel Rhodes successful Emmerdale from 2010 to 2012.

In 2022, Quirke was made an MBE for services to the amusement industry, young people, and charities.

PQA has astir 250 academies and much than 15,000 students crossed the UK, and volition "continue to run arsenic mean successful accordance with Pauline's ideology", Mr Sheen said.

The academy said it was "deeply moved by the messages that we person received", writing connected Instagram: "It has been fantastic to spot however galore lives Pauline has touched done her enactment with PQA and successful her 50-year vocation successful movie and television.

"Improving the lives of young radical done the performing arts has been PQA's ethos since Pauline and Steve opened their archetypal academy successful 2007, and remains cardinal to everything that we do."

Mr Sheen requested privateness and knowing for his woman and her family, saying they would not beryllium making further statements.

"Pauline conscionable wants to walk clip with her family, children and grandchildren," helium added.

Quirke and Mr Sheen joined successful 1996, and they person "pledged aboriginal support" for Alzheimer's Research UK to assistance rise funds for probe and awareness, the foundation said.

Hilary Evans-Newton, main enforcement of Alzheimer's Research UK, said they were "saddened" to perceive astir the actress's diagnosis.

"The household should beryllium praised for making the brave determination to marque her diagnosis public, which volition not lone supply much state for them, but besides rise specified captious consciousness of the condition," she said.

Dementia UK CEO and Chief Admiral Nurse Dr Hilda Hayo added: "By choosing to talk publically astir her condition, Pauline volition rise captious consciousness for young onset dementia.

"We anticipation this volition promote others to question enactment if they are acrophobic astir their encephalon health."

Mr Sheen besides praised precocious histrion Dame Barbara Windsor's hubby Scott Mitchell for his enactment with the foundation pursuing her dementia diagnosis.