\u00ab\u00a0She’s still funny, she’s talking, she’s happy.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Birds of a Feather actress Pauline Quirke was diagnosed with dementia in 2021. Her family, who are unsure what stage she is at, have spoken of their \u00ab\u00a0disbelief\u00a0\u00bb at the time.<\/p>\n
Despite being \u00ab\u00a0very private\u00a0\u00bb, they told BBC Breakfast they decided to speak out to raise awareness and funds for the condition.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0My mum has always been a charitable person. It’s what she would want me to do,\u00a0\u00bb said her son, Charlie Quirke.<\/p>\n
Best-known for playing Sharon Theodopolopodous in long-running sitcom Birds of a Feather, 66-year-old Quirke was also nominated for a Bafta in 1997 for playing a convicted murderer in BBC drama The Sculptress.<\/p>\n
In 2022, she was made an MBE for services to the entertainment industry, young people, and charities.<\/p>\n
But earlier this year her husband, Steve Sheen, who she married in 1996, had to announce her retirement.<\/p>\n
This ended both her 50-year acting career, along with her role as head of Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts, which has about 250 academies, and more than 15,000 young students across the UK.<\/p>\n
Steve said they first got an inkling something might be wrong with Quirke in November 2020, after she received a script.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0She started reading it and she phoned me on that day and said, the words are not going in. That’s where it started,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
Their reaction after the diagnosis was \u00ab\u00a0disbelief, really\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0We looked at each other and went, ‘Can’t be, it’s long Covid. Got the flu’.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Charlie added he was \u00ab\u00a0quite surprised that this was possible in a woman in her 60s, and it can happen to people in their 50s, people in their 40s, so it’s something you have to deal with and learn about\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Dementia is described as \u00ab\u00a0young onset\u00a0\u00bb when symptoms develop before the age of 65. It most often develops in people between the ages of 45 and 65 but can affect people of any age.<\/p>\n
Asked what stage Quirke is at in her dementia journey, Steve said: \u00ab\u00a0We don’t know. She’s still funny. She’s talking. She’s happy.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Is it four years, eight years, 10 years, 12 years, 20, who knows?\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Charlie added: \u00ab\u00a0And that’s the problem, no one tells you.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0My mum knows exactly who we are. Every time she sees all of us, she smiles, laughs, says ‘I love you’, says ‘hello’.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
They spoke about why they were sharing their experience, and what they had learned so far.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Unfortunately we are not in the state where we can do much about it,\u00a0\u00bb Steve said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Just take every day and try and take the best moment out of that day you can.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It’s a long journey. If we can just help a little bit by using Pauline as the catalyst to make more people aware, then we should, to use her to boost awareness and raise funds for dementia research.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Steve said the impact of the condition hit them slowly.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It’s so gradual that for the first year, two years, you’re thinking, ah, she’s alright.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Now, we’re three or four years in, it’s a little bit different. This is why awareness is important. We didn’t know how long it lasts or how long you have with it, or how bad it is or how quick it is.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Charlie added that it \u00ab\u00a0progresses and changes every day, but so do we – we change and progress, and so we’re forever learning\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
The NHS website states dementia is a syndrome (a group of related symptoms) \u00ab\u00a0associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Next month, Charlie is doing a fundraising walk for Alzheimer’s Research UK, going 140 kilometres to places that shaped his mother’s life, including homes she has lived in, theatres and TV studios she has worked at.<\/p>\n
It will also include the Buckinghamshire headquarters of her children’s drama academy.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0This is my mum’s legacy,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0This is going to be one of the stops on my trek, because she wanted to nurture the next generation of young actors.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Steve paid tribute to his wife, saying: \u00ab\u00a0What you see is what you get. Loving. Brilliant. She’s an iconic actress because her talent is immense.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Charlie added: \u00ab\u00a0She is an incredible, strong, courageous woman that’s been through a lot and she keeps going.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0She’s a fighter and it’s incredible to see, yeah, very proud of her.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this story, support and advice is available via the BBC Action Line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00ab\u00a0She’s still funny, she’s talking, she’s happy.\u00a0\u00bb Birds of a Feather actress Pauline Quirke was diagnosed with dementia in 2021. Her family, who are unsure what stage she is at, have spoken of their \u00ab\u00a0disbelief\u00a0\u00bb at the time. Despite being \u00ab\u00a0very private\u00a0\u00bb, they told BBC Breakfast they decided to speak out to raise awareness and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9444","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9444\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}