Susan Griffin

BEFORE Birds Of A Feather returned to screens after a 15-year absence, there was talk behind-the-scenes that the focus would no longer be leading ladies Dorien, Sharon and Tracey, but a new generation of faces.

“They wanted a lot of younger characters in it as well, because they weren’t sure us three would hold an audience,” reveals Linda Robson, 58, who plays Tracey Stubbs.

Fortunately, sense prevailed – and the three women fundamental to the sitcom’s success since its debut in 1989, remained at the forefront.

The opening episode of the returning series attracted almost eight million viewers in 2014, which was followed by two more series in 2015 and earlier this year, and now the girls are back for an hour-long Christmas special.

“We said we’d like to do an old-fashioned caper, and we’d like do it abroad!” says Pauline Quirke, 57, who returns as Sharon Theodopolopodous.

“And it’s funny! It’s not just a holiday,” adds Lesley Joseph, 71, who reprises her role as man-eater Dorien Green. “We really hit the ground running and it doesn’t stop. Just about everything that can go wrong, goes wrong.”

The special sees the ladies leave Essex for Morocco, searching for Tracey’s son Travis, who goes missing during his gap-year travels.

“He normally rings Tracey at the same time every day, so she knows exactly where he is, and all of a sudden he doesn’t ring and she gets in a panic,” explains Robson. “She says, ‘We got to go and find him’. So we go out there and look for him.”

“And hilarity ensues,” adds Quirke – who, in real life, is mum to Charlie Quirke, who plays Travis.

The special was filmed in Malta but there was little time for sightseeing, as the cast and crew only had six days to get everything in the can.

“We were getting make-up calls at 4.30am and doing really long days, but we had such a great time,” says Robson, a regular on Loose Women.

Joseph had even more to juggle, as she was also training with her Strictly Come Dancing partner Anton du Beke at the time.

“Anton flew out and joined me to rehearse,” explains the actress who became the fifth celebrity to leave the dance show when she was voted off at the end of October.

“We trained in the evenings after filming had finished. It was hard, but I am always full of energy so it was a delight.”

Her endless vigour also came in handy for a scene that required her to hop on a camel...

“It’s really weird riding a camel because it goes this way and that way,” she says, demonstrating the motion in her seat. “We actually ended up filming the camel scenes in Leighton Buzzard, because they’re safer in the UK!” she adds, roaring with laughter.

Quirke and Robson also embraced more energetic moments, with speeding cars and stunts involving a harness.

“There might be a bit of flying involved but that’s all I’m allowed to say,” says Robson, grinning.

The one-off is written by Laurence Marks, Maurice Gran, Gary Lawson and John Phelps. “All the A-list writers,” comments Quirke. “They’ve worked together as they did on the tour [of Birds Of A Feather in 2012] to write this one episode.”

Before pen was to put to paper however, the three leads were asked who they’d like to see back in the fold for the Christmas special.

Their response was immediate. “We said Martin Kemp,” says Robson, of the Spandau Ballet member and former EastEnder, who made a huge impact when his character Vince got amorous with Dorien in the back of a hearse earlier this year.

“He’s such a silver fox,”

adds Joseph. “I don’t know whether there are going to be any more Birds but if there were to be, Martin would likely be a part of it, because he’s a lovely man and actor.”

“And very funny because he plays it totally straight,” notes Quirke. “You see in this special that Vince ain’t the brightest spark but Martin plays it slightly bemused all the time.”

Joseph observes that the show’s charm is largely down to the fact “it’s shot like a drama”.

“That’s the wonderful thing. It’s not about thinking where the laugh comes; we don’t play it for a laugh,” she says.

“I can’t think of anything that has been on that long that is still attracting audiences, and still essentially female-led. There’s something in the relationship and chemistry between us that has made it work.”

“They did the American version and it didn’t work,” Robson interjects.

“Don’t know whether the three actresses they got wanted all the funny lines, whereas with us three, we’ll go, ‘Oh, that’s not really a Tracey line, it’s a Sharon line’.”

And the actresses, who are all also appearing in panto this Christmas, are friends off-screen too.

“We know how we work and all our timing, it’s been built up over many, many years. It’s just like putting on an old glove,” comments Joseph.

“It really does work and, if it’s not broken, don’t try and fix it!”

Birds Of A Feather airs on STV tomorrow at 8pm.