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Image: Linda Robson, Lesley Joseph and Pauline Quirke in series 2, 1990.

Birds of a Feather began on 16 October 1989. The sitcom starred Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson as sisters Sharon and Tracey. They lead contrasting lifestyles but have to adapt to life together when their husbands are jailed for armed robbery.

The comedy, written by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, was inspired by Gran's observation of 2 couples - whom he imagined to be gangsters and their molls - having lunch together. Lesley Joseph co-starred as man-mad neighbour Dorien Green. The first episode drew complaints as it featured women talking about sex. However it was an immediate hit with viewers, who found it refreshing and a hastily commissioned Christmas special cemented its success.

Quirke and Robson had worked with the writers before and were chosen to play the sisters. As childhood friends the onscreen relationship they created worked perfectly. Joseph was an actor whose performance made Dorien sympathetic. The series was one of the first British sitcoms to use the American system of employing a team of writers.

Birds of a Feather ran until 1998, attracting audiences as high as 20 million. Marks and Gran went on to write Love Hurts and Goodnight Sweetheart. After a successful run on the stage, Birds of a Feather returned to the screens on ITV in 2014.