Birds of a Feather star Pauline Quirke cropped out of cast pic after row

BIRDS of a Feather star Pauline Quirke was cropped out of a cast picture amid a falling-out between the sitcom’s stars. 

Now friends fear Quirke and her old school chum Linda Robson may “never talk again”.

The dispute is alleged to have started over money.

The doctored snap appears on an Instagram account run by the PR team of Lesley Joseph, who plays man-eater Dorien Green in the hugely successful show.

Quirke is obscured on the post put up in November to announce a Christmas special.

The caption read: “Pauline will NOT appear as she’s taking a step back from acting.”

A source said: “It was a subtle slight on Lesley’s side — but then Pauline had snubbed them by refusing to return to the show and engage in communication.”

Pauline, who played Sharon in the BBC1 show, no longer speaks to Loose Women’s Linda, 62, who played Tracey.

The bust-up, according to an insider, may date back to 1997 when Quirke received a nomination for a Best Actress Bafta Award for her starring role in the BBC’s psychological thriller The Sculptress.

Quirke, 61, is then believed to have asked, through her manager husband Steve Sheen, for more money for her part in Birds of a Feather and requested a more prominent placing in the credits. 

The source said: “Steve was not especially popular on set. 

“He asked for more money, which he felt was valid after her Bafta nomination, so the women started to drift apart.

“The sense now is that they will never repair their friendship. Linda does not believe they will ever speak again.”

The three actresses rocketed to fame in 1989 in the sitcom, which at its peak drew in more than 18 million viewers.

It was relaunched in 2014 by ITV with writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran.

The recent Christmas special pulled in an impressive 7.9 million viewers, and it is understood that Robson and Joseph are keen to do more. Agents for the three did not answer requests to comment.

GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk