You can't have your sitcom and eat it

I would argue that a decent mainstream sitcom will last longer than almost any reality show. Most of these reality juggernauts run out of steam after eight years or so, and then limp along for a couple more. A sitcom can last so much longer.

A drizzle-drenched barbecue to celebrate news of a film adaptation of Dorien's book is cut short by an unexpected call from a homebound auntie south of the river. The lifts at her council high-rise are proving too much, leaving Sharon and Tracey with three unappetising options: play gofer for south London's most ungrateful pensioner; petition the council to relocate Auntie Vera closer to terra firma; or invite her to taste some of the Chigwell high life. Oh, won't someone think of the house prices?

Radio Times review

"Bring in a regular wage or find someone else to ponce off!" is Tracey's ultimatum to Sharon shortly before chucking her sister and Dorien out on the street with a bin bag of clothes and no money. It means the pair must doss down for the night in less than salubrious surroundings, while we must face a barrage of jokes about evil-smelling toilets, crack dens and prostitutes.

Linda Robson spends most of the episode looking like a bulldog chewing a wasp although there is one scene between her and Pauline Quirke, who's holed up in a bookies, that gives you hope that this sitcom could return to its former glory.

The Sun meets the cast of Birds Of A Feather

When I was offered the chance to become Dorien, I leaped at it, even when I learned it would take more than two hours in hair and make-up.

The resuscitated comedy commences its 12th series, which begins with Tracey receiving news that her ex-husband has left this mortal coil. A send-off paid for and attended by "every dodgy geezer in east London" follows. A very traditional sitcom, but well crafted and far more snappily scripted than when it first returned. To wit, Dorien spots a handsome silver fox of a gangster (Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp) and asks: "Is that a gun in his pocket? Or ..." Sharon: "It's a gun, keep walking." Boom, boom!

Radio Times review

The First Ladies of Essex return with their panto style of comedy. Gags and situations are set up with as much subtlety as Dorien's outfits (in this episode she sports a supremely tasteless funeral frock), but there are some good lines as well as guest appearances from former EastEnders Jamie Foreman and Martin Kemp.

Sharon, Tracey and Dorien are at a funeral attended by what they describe as the "Don Corleone Appreciation Society" and featuring a spectacularly decorated hearse. Plus as Dorien's publisher has described her latest bonkbuster Eighty Yards of Ecstasy as "more like 70 yards of yawn", she seizes the opportunity to do some erotic research.

Pauline Quirke: "I used to be sick with nerves"

"I used to be sick, physically sick, for Birds, all those years. 101 episodes, throwing up in the toilet."

Birds Of A Feather stars want Russell Brand

Birds Of A Feather stars Lesley Joseph and Linda Robson have revealed they would like Russell Brand to join the show.

Linda Robson reveals she's glad her career is full on

Between appearing on a hit sitcom and her panelist duties on Loose Women, Linda Robson has never been busier, but she's totally happy with it.