LESLEY Joseph has admitted that her friend Pauline Quirke is “not ok now”, as she gave a heartbreaking update amid her dementia battle.
Along with Linda Robson, the two women appeared together in the smash hit comedy Birds of a Feather.
Pauline, 66, was revealed to be living with dementia in January, with reports stating that her family have been focusing on her care.
Now her Birds Of A Feather co-star Lesley, 80, has as given an update on her close friend.
Speaking to Bella Magazine, the actress said: “Pauline is not too well after being diagnosed with dementia a while ago.
“She’s not okay now. I haven’t had time, but I’m going to go up and see her next week.”
Lesley was previously reluctant to talk about her dear friend, as she came to terms with her diagnosis.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain in February, she said: “What a wonderful actress she is and what joy she has given.
“Not just in Birds of A Feather but in The Sculptress where she was really scary, and in Broadchurch and Emmerdale, I take my hat off to Pauline. She’s amazing.
“I won’t talk about her at the moment with her illness because that’s private.”
Reflecting on her own experience, Lesley shared that she had witnessed the effects of dementia first-hand.
She said her own mother had experienced joyful moments in her later years, despite the terrible illness.
Lesley said: “I’ve lived through dementia with my mum, who lived to nearly 104.
“And in her nineties she was still playing tennis and she was so full of life as she got older, she was an amazing character.”
Pauline rose to fame as the much-loved Sharon Theodopolopodous in Birds of a Feather, starring alongside Lesley and Linda Robson.
While she stepped away from acting in recent years, her impact on British television remains significant.
Pauline’s husband Steve Sheen revealed she would be stepping back from her 50-year career due to the disease.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun at the TV Choice Awards, Loose Women panellist Linda said: “It’s very sad. We’ve been best friends since we were ten. I’ve known [about the diagnosis] for three years and we’ve managed to keep it quiet.
“She doesn’t know who anybody is.
“She doesn’t know who I am or who her kids are. Dementia is terrible – I’d rather get cancer, because at least then you’ve got a chance.”
Linda continued: “My mum had it [dementia] as well. One in two people now get dementia, it’s a lot of people.
“When my mum was in a hospice, we’d get there and she’d recognise us for a second and that was completely gone. It’s the worst thing, it really really is.”
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