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She’s known for rocking a short cropped haircut while playing Sharon on popular sitcom Birds Of A Feather.
And Pauline Quirke, 61, seems to have ditched her character’s trademark look as she stepped out sporting long grey locks in Buckinghamshire on Tuesday.
The actress’ countryside stroll marks the first time she’s been seen since the show’s axe amid reports of a feud with co-star Linda Robson, which the Loose Women panellist has slammed the rumours saying the are a ‘load of old codswallop’.
New look: Pauline Quirke, 61, ditched her character’s trademark short locks as she stepped out sporting long grey hair in Buckinghamshire on Tuesday
Pauline cut a casual figure for the outing in a long black top with three-quarter length sleeves and leggings.
She added a splash of colour by donning a pale pink scarf and completed her look by adding a pair of black shoes.
The star seemed to be in good spirits as she stepped out makeup-free and wore her shoulder-length locks down, letting them cascade over her shoulders.
It comes after it was revealed that Birds Of A Feather has been axed by ITV after Pauline ruled out appearing in future episodes.
Off she goes: The actress, 61, is reportedly feuding with her co-star Linda Robson, 63, however the Loose Women panellist has slammed the rumours saying the are a ‘load of old codswallop’
Relaxed: Pauline cut a casual figure for the outing in a long black top with three-quarter length sleeves and leggings (left) and looked remarkably different to when she played Sharon (right)
On screen: Pauline (left) played Sharon while Linda was her on-screen sister Tracey in the hit sitcom (pictured on Birds Of A Feather in 1998)
Co-stars Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, 75, who play Tracey Stubbs and Dorien Green in the sitcom, had hoped last year’s Christmas special would convince TV chiefs to commission a new series.
But despite attracting an audience of 7.9 million, ITV has decided against ordering more episodes after Pauline decided not to take part in the special.
The announcement also came amid surprise at the recent dismissal by Linda, 63, of claims about a falling-out with Pauline.
Linda– who has known Pauline since they were ten years old – described the reports as ‘a load of old codswallop’, but sources on the show insist the rift – which was first reported by The Mail on Sunday in February – is genuine.
‘Without Pauline, the view is that there is no Birds Of A Feather,’ said a source.
Strolling: The star seemed to be in good spirits as she stepped out makeup-free and wore her shoulder-length locks down, letting them cascade over her shoulders
Sensible: She added a splash of colour by donning a pale pink scarf and completed her look by adding a pair of black shoes
All smiles: Pauline showed no signs of being worried about recent reports of her feud with her former co-stars as she beamed smiles while out walking
‘You cannot have Tracey without Sharon, and there is no way Pauline will be going back. Things are bad between her and Linda.
‘Linda and Lesley gave it a go but, despite the figures being good, ITV won’t be recommissioning it.’
Sources close to Linda and Lesley claim that Pauline and her husband Steve Sheen, who acts as her manager, wanted to negotiate a better deal to appear in the show.
Linda and Lesley had hoped they could keep the sitcom going by replacing Pauline’s character with a younger lookalike.
After the rift was revealed, it was alleged that matters became so heated at one point that childhood friends had to be separated by crew members during filming at Teddington Studios in West London.
One source said: ‘They will never speak again. It is desperately sad, but also staggering that Linda would pretend they are friends. They are not.’
Brushing it off: The stroll comes after it was revealed that Birds Of A Feather has been axed by ITV after Pauline ruled out appearing in future episodes
Go way back: Pauline (pictured walking on Tuesday) and Linda have been pals since childhood
However speaking to The Sun in May, Linda said that the rumours of a falling out are a ‘load of old codswallop’ and that Pauline only missed the show’s Christmas special as she was working on other things.
Back in February, it was reported that Pauline is no longer on amicable terms with Linda after she was involved in a tense face-off with Lesley outside TV studio toilets.
Linda said: ‘Take no notice of what you’ve heard about me and Pauline falling out. It’s a load of old codswallop.
‘Pauline just chose not to do Birds Of A Feather. She wants to concentrate on her acting academy, that’s that.
‘We’ve known each other since we were ten. We’re friends. Will Pauline return to the show? I don’t know.’
And in April Linda said it was Pauline’s ‘choice’ not to appear in the one-off episode last year and that the cast had ‘to respect’ her decision.
Speaking out: Linda recently denied ever having a feud with her her Birds Of A Feather co-star Pauline
Pauline’s character Sharon Theodopolopodous was written out of the episode as being ‘stuck on a Covid cruise’.
Linda told the Express: ‘Obviously people miss Pauline, but we have to respect that it was her choice not to do it anymore.
‘She wants to concentrate on her academy. When they (the producers) asked us, we were like, ‘Yeah we would still like to do it. We’re not ready to finish. I think it worked really well as they did a good script, and we did the best we could with it.’
MailOnline has contacted Pauline’s representatives for comment at the time.
Feud?: Last month Linda has said it was Pauline’s ‘choice’ not to appear in the one-off episode last year and that the cast had ‘to respect’ her decision. Linda and Pauline are pictured in 1993
The Sun previously alleged the bust-up with Lesley could date back to 1997, when Pauline received a BAFTA nomination for her role in The Sculptress, and reportedly asked for a bigger salary for her Birds Of A Feather stint through her manager husband Steve Sheen.
And Loose Women panellist Linda left Pauline out of a gushing Instagram post paying tribute to her ‘favourite girls,’ after nearly 50 years of friendship when she marked ‘Galentine’s Day’ on February 14.
Her post included several snaps with her Loose Women co-stars, including an image with Nadia Sawalha from her emotional return to the show last year.
Birds Of A Feather, which tells the story of two sisters whose husbands are jailed for armed robbery, ran for nine series on the BBC between 1989 and 1998 and was revived by ITV in 2014.
Back in the day: The trio shot to fame in 1989 when Birds Of A Feather began on BBC1 (pictured 2015)
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