Pauline Quirke no longer recognises Linda Robson
They have been friends since the age of 10 but Pauline Quirke's battle with dementia means she no longer recognises Linda Robson.
Pauline Quirke "doesn't know" who Linda Robson is anymore.
The 65-year-old actress' husband Steve Sheen recently revealed Pauline has been battling dementia - which causes a decline in thinking, memory, and reasoning skills - since 2021 and her friend and 'Birds of a Feather' co-star admitted it is "terrible" to see her pal's sad decline.
Linda told The Sun newspaper: “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...
"It does [hit you hard], I think about her all the time.
"She's not the Pauline that I knew growing up. She's got a good support around her, that's the main thing."
The 'Loose Women' star - whose mum also had dementia - has only seen Pauline on FaceTime but hopes to see her in person soon.
She said: "Hopefully I'm going to go and see her soon.
"When she sees me, she smiles. But after a couple of minutes it's gone.
"I just want to be there for her, it would be really nice to spend some time with her and look after her because we looked after each other all them years."
The 66-year-old actress admitted people had begun to realise things weren't "right" with Paulina before Steve made her diagnosis public.
She said:
"It's been going on for three years and I've known for three years but never told anybody.
"When she was meeting people, they were then beginning to realise that something wasn't right."
Linda is insistent she won't return to 'Birds of a Feather' again as it "wouldn’t be the same without Pauline" but she and co-star Lesley Joseph would happily get involved in a tribute to the 'Broadchurch' actress.
She said: “I wouldn’t do it without Pauline.
“It wouldn’t be the same without her. I would be up for some kind of tribute to celebrate her.
"It's a good idea, maybe we can get Lesley and we can do something for her, just to celebrate her life and the amazing things she's done and the parts that she played and the dramas she did. She's an amazing actress and the most amazing friend as well."
