Their next-door neighbour and later friend Dorien is a middle-aged married Jewish woman who is constantly having affairs with younger men.

[1][2] The opening episode of the new series attracted almost eight million viewers, giving ITV its highest-rated comedy since Barbara in 2000.

[4][5] There was a further Christmas special in 2020, in which Pauline Quirke did not appear due to her decision to take a step back from acting, in order to focus on her performing arts academy.

[6] The title comes from the idiom "birds of a feather flock together", meaning that people having similar characters, backgrounds, interests or beliefs will congregate.

For Cockney sisters Sharon Theodopolopodous and Tracey Stubbs, life is never the same again when their husbands are convicted of armed robbery and sent to prison.

Sharon, a common, fun-loving, large and loud-mouthed character from a council flat in Edmonton, moves into her sister's luxury home in Chigwell, so that she can support Tracey, after her husband's imprisonment.

Her marriage to Chris, a waster of Greek Cypriot descent, was miserable and childless, supposedly due to Sharon's infertility.

Unlike Sharon, who is more realistic about their husbands, Tracey deludes herself into believing her husband is innocent, especially in the 1994 Christmas episode "The Chigwell Connection" and when Darryl is finally released in series seven, she trusts him when he asks for a cheque on the company account, which leads to Darryl defrauding her out of her business assets.

The sisters' neighbour is the wealthy, snobbish, man-eating Dorien Green, a middle-aged woman who strives to create the impression that she is a glamorous beauty, dressing in a sexually provocative style, preferring mini-skirts, high heels and leopard print.

Travis feigns annoyance that Sharon is back, but it is then revealed that he set up their "chance" meeting at the book signing.

As the three plan how their new set-up will work, Dorien arrives unexpectedly, after learning that she is being sued for plagiarising Fifty Shades of Grey.

By the end of the series Garth, Marcie and Poppy have moved out, with the couple opening a pop-up restaurant and the case against Dorien collapsed, due to a tabloid exposé about an MP she once dated – which proves the stories in her book were true.

However, after initially planning to return to her former home in Hollywood, Dorien realises that Sharon and Tracey are her true friends and opts to stay with them.

Dorien eventually agrees to meet Naomi (Frances Ruffelle), who she is stunned to discover is a vicar with two grown-up children.

Streets in the North West London suburb of Pinner frequently doubled for Chigwell, the series' setting.

On 3 March 2009, the Daily Mirror reported that the sitcom was set for a return and that Lesley Joseph, Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson had all been asked to make another series.

Quirke was reported as saying that her acting school "Quirky Kidz" was really beginning to take off, so she would be hesitant about becoming involved in another creative project.

It was also confirmed that all characters would return, including Tracey's new child, who was born in the last episode (of the previous series, 16 years earlier).

[3] On 16 January, Robson, Quirke and Joseph appeared on Loose Women to take over for one special episode to celebrate the series return and the ratings success.

[13] In August 2014, Robson confirmed that filming would start on 7 September 2014 and continue until November and the series would be broadcast in January 2015.

In June 2018 Lesley Joseph revealed that ITV were discussing plans for another series in October 2019 to mark the show's 30th anniversary.

The episode featured Linda Robson, Lesley Joseph and Les Dennis with a storyline inspired by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

[24] However in June 2022 Linda Robson stated that a further reunion special had been discussed with Pauline Quirke and that it was up to ITV to make a decision.

A large number of actors and personalities have made appearances, including David Emanuel,[26] Jenny Seagrove,[26] Michael Winner,[27] Robert Kilroy Silk,[28] Jill Halfpenny,[29] Siobhan Hayes,[30] Ross Kemp,[31] Linda Henry,[32] Alan Ford,[33] Ray Winstone,[34] George Hamilton,[35] George Wendt,[35] Brian Capron,[36] Jamie Glover,[37] Richard Branson,[38] Lionel Blair,[38] Robert Llewellyn,[39] Liz Fraser,[40] John Bardon,[40][41] Clive Mantle,[42] James Greene,[43] Sophia La Porta,[43] Amy Childs,[44] Ted Robbins,[45] Anna Skellern,[46] Judy Cornwell,[46] Lorraine Kelly,[46] Katy Cavanagh,[47] Martin Kemp,[48] Lucy Dixon,[49] Mark Kingston,[50] Les Dennis,[51] Curtis Walker[51] and Paul Shearer[52] Birds of a Feather first aired in 1989 and ran for 129 episodes consisting of 12 series and numerous specials.

Gary Lawson, John Phelps, Geoff Rowley, Sue Teddem, Peter Tilbury, Geoff Deane, Tony Millan, Mike Walling, Damon Rochefort, Sam Lawrence, Keith Lindsay, Martin Tomms, Pat Coombs, Steve Coombes, Dave Robinson, George Costigan, Julia North, John Ross, Frankie Bailey, Miles Tredinnick, Jenny Lecoat, Alun Lewis, Richard Preddy, Gary Howe, Ian Davidson, Peter Vincent, Tony Jordan have also written episodes.

Initially the version recorded by actor William Atherton for the 1974 film The Great Gatsby was used; from the third series onwards it is sung by Quirke and Robson.

During the opening theme for series 1, Quirke and Robson were seen both dressed in a white shirt and a black skirt and they walked towards to screen through several spotlights.

[53] On 8 July 2010, Linda Robson confirmed on This Morning that a script had been written for a stage show, which all three actresses were keen to be involved with, but this would depend on the availability of Pauline Quirke, who had just been contracted to Emmerdale for six months.

Quirke announced on 16 May 2011 that she would be leaving Emmerdale at Christmas 2011 and that a touring version of Birds of a Feather would start in spring 2012.

The shows included were "Nicked", "Just Visiting", "Shift", "Women's Trouble", "Getting a Grip", "Sweet Smell of Success", "Young Guns" and "Muesli".