Linda Robson has spoken out on her row with Pauline Quirke.
The TV star, 62, was recently hit with reports suggesting that she'd fallen out with her Birds of a Feather co-star Pauline after working with her on and off for over 20 years.
Speculation sparked that the pair were less than friendly when Pauline was absent from the Christmas special last year, and a later report suggested she'd had a massive fallout with Linda and fellow cast member Lesley Joseph.
And now Loose Women personality Linda has insisted that her former sitcom castmate - who has opened up her own performing arts academy in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, since leaving the limelight - was the one to decide that she did not want to take part in the festive reunion.
Linda shared that it was Pauline's "choice" to not star in the Christmas one-off and added that viewers needed to "respect" the actress' decision.
"Obviously people miss Pauline, but we have to respect that it was her choice not to do it anymore," she told Express.co.uk.
Linda continued: "She wants to concentrate on her academy."
Shining a light on behind-the-scenes tension, she added: "When they (the producers) asked us, we were like, ‘Yeah we would still like to do it. We’re not ready to finish.
"I think it worked really well as they did a good script, and we did the best we could with it."
Rumours started to swirl about trouble among the Birds Of A Feather cast when The Sun reported last month that Linda and Lesley were no longer speaking to Pauline following a series of arguments.
It was suggested that one particularly nasty row between Pauline and Lesley left the friendship between the three stars in tatters.
A source said: "The nadir came during one astonishing row at Teddington Studios, culminating in Pauline and Lesley squaring off, noses centimetres apart, outside the women's loos.
"They were basically pulled apart by stunned crew members. Things went rapidly downhill from there."
The insider added: "Linda doesn't believe they'll ever speak again."
It later emerged that Lesley had posted a picture on her Instagram last year promoting the 2020 Christmas special but Pauline had been cropped out.
Linda later fuelled rumours of a feud when she posted a "Galentine's Day" tribute to her female friends and colleagues in February - and Pauline was missing from the snaps.
The Christmas special, which is thought to have been the source of the drama, featured both Linda and Lesley, but Pauline's character Sharon was not in the show.
Sharon's absence was explained by her being stuck on a cruise ship near Costa Rica.
Linda had previously announced news of the Christmas special during an appearance on Loose Women, and said Pauline had decided to give up acting.
She explained: "Pauline didn't do it, she didn't want to this year, she wants to give up acting and she wants to carry on with her acting academy.
"We really missed her, but it's her choice."
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Linda and Pauline first worked together on 1970 film Junket 89 before later finding fame together playing best friends on Birds of a Feather, which debuted in 1989.
The show ran until 1998 before being revived in 2014.
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