PAULINE Quirke’s heartbroken husband Steve has admitted her family don’t know how long the Birds of a Feather star has left after she was diagnosed with dementia in 2022.
Steve appeared on television for the first time today and spoke about the moment he realised something was wrong, and how he initially dismissed Pauline’s symptoms as “long Covid”.
Her family announced in January that she had been diagnosed and would step away from the spotlight.
Now, appearing on BBC Breakfast, Steve recounted the first moment they noticed something was wrong.
He said: “Around November 2020, a script came in, she started reading it and she phoned me on that day and said, ‘the words aren’t going in.’ That’s where it started.”
He explained that the family were in complete shock when doctors confirmed the diagnosis.
“We thought, ‘Can’t be. It’s long covid. You’ve got the flu.’
“It’s so gradual that for the first year, two years you’re thinking, ‘No she’s alright.’ Now, three or four years in, it’s a little bit different.”
Steve also revealed the painful uncertainty about how much time they have left with Pauline.
“This is why awareness is important,” he continued.
“We didn’t know how long it lasts or how long you have with it or how bad it is or how quick it is.
“She’s still funny, she’s talking, she’s happy. Is it four years, eight years, ten years, 12 years, 20 years, who knows?
“We’re just trying to make people aware of the condition.
“We’re very private people, we don’t do this but for this cause, we need to.”
Their son Charlie also appeared on the programme and reassured fans that their mum still recognises them.
He said: “Our mum knows exactly who we are, every time she sees all of us, she smiles, she laughs, she says hello.
“She’s good – my mum has always been my best friend and her condition has not changed that.”
He continued: “She’s happy, loving and still the funniest person in the world.
“We’re always learnings about this condition and it is what it is.
“She’s the best woman in the world.
“She’ll always be Pauline Quirke. Sharon Theodopolopodous. Mum.”
Steve said the family is coping by taking life day by day.
He added: “It is what it is. Unfortunately, we are not in a state where we can do much about it.
“We just take every day and try and take the best moment out of that day that you can. It’s a long journey.
“If we can just help a little bit by using Pauline as the catalyst to make more people aware, then we should.”
Charlie said raising awareness is now the family’s priority:
He continued: “It’s not just the person with the condition, it’s everyone around.
“It affects millions in the country. It’s what my mum would want me to do.
“It is what she wants me to do – to raise awareness and then funds for research.”
He is set to embark on a 140km trek to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
The five-day walk, from December 8-12, will cover five counties, beginning in Chigwell, Essex – the home setting of Birds of a Feather.
Pauline is best known for playing Sharon in the long-running sitcom Birds of a Feather.
She received a BAFTA nomination for her role in BBC drama The Sculptress in 1997 and was awarded an MBE in 2022 for services to entertainment, young people and charities, including her work with the Pauline Quirke Academy.
