Lesley Joseph as Dorien Green
Lesley Joseph embarked on a six-month training regime to slim down for 'Birds of a Feather'.
The 68-year-old actress is to reprise her role of short skirt-lover Dorien Green when the sitcom returns with a new series on ITV on Thursday night (02.01.14), 15 years after the last series aired on BBC One, but the actress felt she needed to shed a few pounds before sporting the man-eater's skimpy outfits.
She said: "I'd put on a little bit of weight but I went on a six-month regime of training.
"I have to wear some skirts that are little more than pelmets. But it wasn't at all daunting, I found it great fun."
The show follows the hijinks of sisters Tracey Stubbs (Linda Robson) and Sharon Theodopolopodos (Pauline Quirke), and their next door neighbour Dorien - and Pauline admits the on-screen chemistry between the trio is no different to how they are with each other when the camera stops rolling.
She added to the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We just love each other so much. When we started rehearsing again it was like we'd never been apart. We love each other's company. We spend days out together, we go round each other's houses, have a chat and a glass of wine.
"The chemistry we have feeds what happens on screen and people can feel it. To us it's just natural. This is how we are.
"It will come across in this series because it's real. We don't have to fake it."
The new series of 'Birds of a Feather' starts on ITV on Thursday at 8:30pm.
Tagged in Pauline Quirke Linda Robson Lesley Joseph