Linda Robson says Pauline Quirke no longer speaks much and doesn’t know who her grandchildren are, in a tearful update about her dementia battle.
The actress went public with her illness last month via her husband Steve Sheen, who announced she had been diagnosed in December 2021.
As part of the statement, he said the 65-year-old had stepped back from all of her professional and commercial duties, but that her UK-wide performing arts academy will continue to run, in accordance with her ideology.
Linda, who starred alongside Pauline and Lesley Joseph in the sitcom Birds of a Feather, said she has kept in touch with Pauline’s family since the beginning.
“I kept in touch with Steve the whole time over the last few years and Emily and Charlie too, those are her kids,” she told the Sunday Mail’s Love Sunday magazine.
“So, she’s being well looked after and that’s the main thing. I FaceTime her, she doesn’t say much, but I’m talking and we have calls.”
Loose Women star Linda, 66, went on to say she has noticed “a real difference” in her good friend, who she doesn’t think remembers her anymore.
“She doesn’t remember her grandchildren,” she added. “So, she’s not going to remember who I am even though we’ve been friends for 56 years. It really is sad.”
Linda said while discussing her friend’s “terrible” illness had left her “really upset”, she was grateful to those who had shown support for Pauline.
The actress is best known as Sharon Theodopolopodous from Birds of a Feather, a sitcom that ran for nearly 30 years.
During her 50-year career, she starred in more than 60 television and film productions including; The Sculptress, Broadchurch, Carrie’s War, North and South, Casualty, as well as ITV soap Emmerdale.
There are different types of dementia and it can affect people differently.
However, there are some common early symptoms that may appear some time before a diagnosis of dementia, according to the NHS.
Common early symptoms of dementia
- Memory loss
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Difficulty concentrating
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Finding it hard to carry out familiar daily tasks
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Struggling to follow a conversation or find the right word
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Being confused about a time and place
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Mood changes
The website explains: “These symptoms are often mild and may get worse only very gradually.
“It’s often termed ‘mild cognitive impairment’ (MCI) as the symptoms are not severe enough to be diagnosed as dementia.”
The NHS also states that dementia is not a natural part of ageing, and recommend seeing a GP sooner rather than later if you’re worried about memory problems or other symptoms.