Returning: Birds of a Feather

The UK’s Birds of a Feather revival, coming 16 years after it last departed, will premiere on UKTV in July.

The ’90s comedy series returns as an 8 part series with all three original actresses, Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph reprising their roles.

Also returning are original writers Laurence Marks, Maurice Gran, Gary Lawson and John Phelps.

The revival has drawn UK audiences of up to 9.5 million making it the most successful comedy launch for ITV in over a decade. Another series has already been commissioned.

As the series begins, sisters Sharon and Tracey are living separate lives, and Dorien has seemingly flown off into the sunset to live a jestetting life as a writer of a racy novel, “Sixty Shades of Green”.

Meanwhile Tracey’s marriage to former robber Darryl petered out years ago and she has since remarried and got divorced again… but she still lives in relative comfort in Essex’s legendary Chigwell with pampered teenage son Travis. She gets by with a Telesales job, but times aren’t easy and she misses her older son Garth (Matt Willis), who’s been living in Australia. Meanwhile Sharon scrapes a minimum wage in “World of Quid”, Essex’s leading “everything’s a pound” chain, and is as chippy as ever.

But Sharon misses the comfort of her sister’s home and after a chance meeting at Dorien’s book signing, their lives collide once more – an impending court case means that Dorien has nowhere to go and moves in, then the nest gets busier still as Garth, Australian partner Marcie and her 10 year old daughter Poppy unexpectedly make the long migration back to Chigwell.

Join three generations of the family again – for proof that for Sharon, Tracey and Dorien, Essex really is the only way…

Sunday July 6 at 7.00pm on UKTV.