ATV Icon: Pauline Quirke

The latest star to be inducted into the ATV Icons to celebrate 70 years of ITV is performer Pauline Quirke…

Pauline Perpetua Quirke was born in July 1959 in Hackney, London, she was raised by her mother Hetty in a working-class family in Islington, where her mother often “couldn’t scrape together the 10p” fee for young Pauline to attend drama classes.

Quirke developed an early love of acting – she recalled choosing after-school drama over country dancing “because I had a wart on my hand”– and trained at the Anna Scher Theatre School in North London. She later became classmates with Linda Robson and Phil Daniels at Anna Scher’s drama school. Quirke’s first screen roles came as a child: she appeared in the Children’s Film Foundation movie Junket 89 (1970) and played a young arsonist on the BBC police series Dixon of Dock Green (1971).

Children’s series ‘Pauline’s Quirkes’ / Thames TV

Pauline in horror Beasts / ATV

Quirke’s early career spanned TV and stage. At age 17 she hosted Pauline’s Quirkes, a Saturday morning comedy/music show for teens on Thames Television (1976 for ITV) this was a spin-off from You Must Be Joking! an earlier teen sketch series which she starred in. She also appeared in the ATV horror anthology Beasts (1976 for ITV) and won a regular role as Erica in the BBC nursing drama Angels (66 episodes, 1976–1983).

In the early 1980s she co-starred with Linda Robson in the popular ATV/Central Television comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon (ITV, 1982–85). Quirke continued to work steadily through the 1980s in TV dramas and films – her early movie credits include The Elephant Man (1980), Little Dorrit (1987) and Getting It Right (1989) – building her profile with a range of roles. She also hosted a children’s chat show, Pauline’s People, on Thames in 1974 (at age 14).

Pauline in Central’s wartime comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon / Central

With long time friend and on-screen co-star Linda Robson in Shine on Harvey Moon / Central

Quirke’s major breakthrough came in 1989 when she was cast as Sharon Theodopolopodous in the BBC sitcom Birds of a Feather, opposite her childhood friend Linda Robson – playing sisters Sharon and Tracey Stubbs.

The show was an instant hit, running for nearly 10 years on BBC One (1989–1998). For her performance Quirke won the 1990 British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Newcomer. Birds garnered huge ratings, peaking around 24 million viewers, and made Quirke a household name. ITV later revived the series in 2014; three new series ran on the network (2014–2017) with Quirke reprising Sharon however she chose not to appear in the final one-off special in December 2020, citing a wish to focus on family.

The role earned Quirke several National Television Award nominations over the years, cementing her status as a popular personality with UK audiences.

BBC era, Birds of a Feather  / BBC

Reality series: Jobs for the Girls / BBC

After Birds of a Feather, Quirke took on more dramatic and varied parts. In 1996 she starred in the BBC miniseries The Sculptress – an adaptation of Minette Walters’ novel – and earned a BAFTA TV Award nomination for Best Actress for that performance.

She appeared in a range of TV series including the detective drama Maisie Raine (BBC, 1998–99), the hospital comedy Down to Earth (ITV, 2000–03), and in the 2010s, she played Hazel Rhodes on the ITV Yorkshire soap Emmerdale (2010–2012). Her other credits include as Susan Wright on the crime drama Broadchurch (2013–2015) and guest roles in shows like Skins, Cold Blood, and the limited series You, Me and the Apocalypse (2015).

Her work in comedy and drama has been widely acknowledged: Telegraph and The Guardian profiles note her as an “inspiration” in the industry. She has also been a patron of charities like NSPCC and hospices, reflecting her commitment to social causes.

The Good Sex Guide: Linda and Pauline appear in a sketch in the ‘sex education’ series / Carlton

The Sculptress / BBC

In 2007 Quirke and her husband Steve Sheen founded the Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts (PQA). PQA is a franchise of weekend drama, dance and musical theatre schools for children and teens. Their vision was to create a full-spectrum arts school – acting, singing, dance, comedy, film – after finding limited options for their own son.

The first PQA opened in Surrey and quickly grew: now over 200 PQA locations operate across the UK and more than 15,000 young people attend PQA classes nationwide. The academies have produced public performances at West End venues and the Edinburgh Fringe. (Quirke has also launched a full-time post-16 academy in London.) PQA’s motto is inspiring confidence through the arts, reflecting Pauline’s belief in drama’s positive impact on young people.

Game show guests: With Bob Monkhouse on Celebrity Squares / Central

ITV era: Birds of a Feather with Linda Robson and Leslie Joseph

Pauline Quirke married director Steve Sheen in 1996 and they have two children.

In recent years she remained primarily focused on PQA and selective acting projects. In January 2025 her husband issued a public statement revealing that Quirke had been diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2021, and that she would “step back from all professional and commercial duties” as a result; This explained her absence from Birds of a Feather’s final special and effectively marked her retirement from acting after 2020.

Quirke herself has requested privacy as she focuses on her health and family. Her legacy endures through her iconic TV roles and through PQA, which “remains robust and will continue to operate as normal” even as she withdraws from public life.