Birds Of A Feather. Image shows from L to R: Sharon Theodopolopodous (Pauline Quirke), Dorien Green (Lesley Joseph), Tracey Stubbs (Linda Robson). Copyright: Alomo Productions / Retort
Birds Of A Feather

Birds Of A Feather (1989)

  • TV sitcom
  • ITV1 / BBC One
  • 1989 - 2020
  • 128 episodes (12 series)

Sitcom about mismatched sisters Tracey and Sharon, and their glamorous friend, Dorien. Stars Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson, Lesley Joseph, Charlie Quirke, Samuel James and more.

Episode menu

Series 2, Episode 15 - Someone Else's Baby

As the Antiques Roadshow throws up a surprise for Dorien, a letter in an old box and a barmy Auntie Sylvie throw up a few shocks for Tracey and Sharon. What is the meaning of the letter?

Further details

Dorien brings round a piece of imperial silver to take to The Antiques Roadshow, leading them to rummage through the junk in the attic. Dorien uncovers an old box, but there's no key. Tracey is angry at them for routing. Dorien opens the box using her bracelet.

They find old love letters in the box written by their mother and an old flame, one of which mentions an orphanage. Sharon thinks she's adopted, Dorien thinks she's jumping to conclusions and tells her to ask Auntie Sylvie.

Tracey isn't pleased to find Sylvie in the house, she hates her perfume and she's barking mad, calling them by each others names. She gets annoyed that Sharon wants to ask her about her parents.

Sylvie sees Dorien's silver tea urn and tells her that she remembers them being sold on stalls in Hackney. Dorien snaps and tells her it is a genuine Russian antique.

At the Antiques Roadshow Dorien is all smiles when the expert starts examining her urn, he says it is Russian imperial silver, as he starts to estimate it's value his colleague interrupts and tells them it is in fact a copy, made during the war, just as Auntie Sylvie had said.

Back home Sharon confronts Sylvie with the letter, telling her to drop the barmy act. As Tracey gets upset, Sylvie rushes over and calls her by the correct name. She reveals that both of them were adopted and she had promised their mother on her death bed that she would not tell them. She also tells them that she faked their birth certificates when she worked at the town hall.

Broadcast details

Date
Thursday 13th December 1990
Time
8:30pm
Channel
BBC One
Length
30 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Monday 22nd July 2013 2:40pm Drama
Monday 22nd July 2013 7:40pm Drama
Tuesday 23rd July 2013 2:00am Drama
Friday 2nd August 2013 10:00am Drama
Saturday 3rd August 2013 10:00am Drama
Saturday 28th September 2013 1:00am Drama
Monday 30th September 2013 1:50pm Drama
Monday 30th September 2013 6:50pm Drama
Sunday 10th November 2013 2:00am Drama
Sunday 10th November 2013 10:20am Drama
Sunday 10th November 2013 1:30pm Drama
Saturday 21st December 2013 2:00am Drama
Monday 28th April 2014 2:00pm Drama
Monday 28th April 2014 11:00pm Drama
Tuesday 29th April 2014 1:20am Drama
Thursday 4th September 2014 2:20pm Drama
Monday 26th January 2015 2:20pm Drama
Monday 26th January 2015 11:20pm Drama
Wednesday 10th June 2015 2:20pm Drama
Thursday 11th June 2015 1:30am Drama
Tuesday 2nd February 2016 2:20pm Drama
Wednesday 3rd February 2016 1:00am Drama
Monday 7th March 2016 6:00pm Drama
Monday 7th March 2016 11:20pm Drama
Monday 13th June 2016 2:20pm Drama
Friday 21st October 2016 2:20pm Drama
Saturday 22nd October 2016 3:25am Drama
Tuesday 28th February 2017 2:20pm Drama
Thursday 13th July 2017 2:20pm Drama
Friday 14th July 2017 12:40am Drama
Wednesday 22nd November 2017 2:20pm Drama
Wednesday 22nd November 2017 11:20pm Drama
Saturday 16th December 2017 9:40am Drama
Wednesday 11th April 2018 11:20pm Drama
Wednesday 30th January 2019 5:20pm Drama
Thursday 31st January 2019 3:15am Drama
Friday 14th June 2019 5:20pm Drama
Friday 29th May 2020 5:20pm Drama
Monday 16th November 2020 7:15am Drama
Thursday 22nd April 2021 7:15am Drama
Friday 23rd April 2021 3:20am Drama
Monday 5th July 2021 5:20pm Drama
Saturday 23rd October 2021 8:20am Drama
Wednesday 6th July 2022 3:25am Drama
Monday 17th April 2023 7:30am Drama

Cast & crew

Cast
Pauline Quirke Sharon Theodopolopodous
Linda Robson Tracey Stubbs
Lesley Joseph Dorien Green
Guest cast
Vivian Pickles Sylvie
Peter Bourke First Roadshow Expert
John Bly Second Roadshow Expert
Writing team
Frankie Bailey Writer
Production team
Charlie Hanson Director
Nic Phillips Series Producer
Allan McKeown Executive Producer
Michael Pilsworth Executive Producer
Phil Moss Editor
Kenneth Sharp (as Ken Sharp) Production Designer
John Hubbard Casting Director
Susie Parriss Casting Director
Alison Munro Costume Designer
Keith Reed Lighting Designer
David Snell Composer
David MacDonald 1st Assistant Director
Steve Hellaby Dubbing Editor

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