Loose Women star Linda Robson opened up about her turbulent year, which has included a health scare and the emotional challenge of adapting to Pauline Quirke’s dementia diagnosis
Samantha Masters Content Editor
10:43, 16 Dec 2025
Linda Robson opened up about her health (Image: BBC)
Loose Women star Linda Robson has provided an update on her health, during her absence from the ITV programme. Last year, while live on the panel, the 67-year-old revealed that doctors were “keeping an eye” on her after gallstones had damaged her pancreas.
Speaking about how illnesses can impact loved ones with her fellow co-stars, Linda disclosed: “Well I’ve had a bit of a health scare myself.
“So, quite a few years ago I had gallstones and they damaged my pancreas, and they’ve been keeping an eye on me for a while now.”
The actress went on to say she was having multiple MRI and other scans at the time as doctors examined a cyst.
“Because I had a cyst on my pancreas and it’s gone from 1cm to 2cm, so the kids have obviously been really worried about me,” she added.
In an update regarding her health, Linda said she was “alright now”, and had plans to treat herself to a break in the new year.
Pauline Quirke, Lesley Joseph and Linda Robson of Birds of a Feather (Image: PA)
Asked about her 2026 plans, she told Bella Magazine: “At the moment, I’m just thinking about going on holiday as soon as the panto finishes.
“It’s been an up and down sort of year. I had a little health scare but I’m alright now. So I want to do my panto, and then a week or so after I’ll go away with my two sisters to Cyprus.”
Linda’s health revelation comes during her break from Loose Women, as she concentrates on her current pantomime role in Aladdin.
In the same interview, she acknowledged that she prefers acting to being a panellist on the show.
“I prefer acting, really. I think once I started doing Loose Women you become more like a celebrity than an actor,” she revealed.
“I did some acting this year with Lesley [Joseph], we did The Good Ship Murder, which filmed in Malta.
“I had to kill her, I enjoyed that because I said, ‘I’ve 30 years to strangle you!’ That was good fun.”
Birds of a Feather stars Lesley and Linda have continued their professional partnership since the sitcom concluded, while their co-star Pauline Quirke has retired from acting.
In January, Pauline’s family announced that she had been diagnosed with dementia in 2021, and now had to withdraw from “all professional and commercial duties”.
Linda Robson with her fellow Loose Women co-stars (Image: ITV)
While discussing the devastating news for the first time on Loose Women, Linda struggled to fight back tears.
“We were at the same primary school together and we did everything together. We travelled all over the world, we went to amazing places. Because of Birds of a Feather, it opened many doors,” she reminisced about their shared experiences.
“We just had such amazing times and she was an amazing actress as well. She has got the most beautiful family, a loving husband Steve who was the love of her life. Her kids as well, she has got two kids and granddaughters as well.”
Linda added: “We sort of did everything the same. We were really naughty. We used our fame to get into so many different places.”
More recently, the Loose Women star revealed that she had met with Pauline at a private lunch. Providing an update on her condition, she told The Mirror: “She was giggling and happy.
“She’s being really well looked after and she did recognise me, which I was really pleased with as well. She’s doing well.”
