11 things you might not have known about Linda Robson

Find out all about presenter and actress, Linda Robson

Updated on07 04 2022

What is Linda Robson known for?

Linda Patricia Mary Robson is an English actress and presenter best known for her role as Tracey Stubbs in the BBC comedy series Birds of a Feather from 1989 - 1998. Now, she is known for being a regular guest panellist on Loose Women in 2003, 2010 and 2011. She has also made appearances in programmes such as The Bill and Crossroads.

Linda has also appeared in numerous reality TV and game shows, including Dick Turpin, I'm Famous and Frightened!, Celebrity Blind Man's Bluff, Celebrities Under Pressure, The Weakest Link, and Comic Relief does Fame Academy.

Birds of a Feather Christmas special

Last time we saw Linda Robson as Tracey Stubbs was in the Birds of a Feather Christmas special. She starred alongside Lesley Joseph for the first time in three years in this brand-new one-off special.

Pauline Quirk was not in the Christmas special as she wants to take a step back from acting.

Prior to the special, Lesley Joseph said: "I'm so excited to be putting Dorien's high heels back on for a Christmas special of Birds. It's been 3 years since viewers last saw us and Dorien's only gone and got herself a new man! We all need a laugh right now and I promise this special will deliver the festive goods!”

Linda Robson said: “I'm so happy we have a new Birds adventure. Trace and Dor have been at loggerheads with each other for months, will it be a peaceful Christmas in Essex?! The script for this special is brilliant, I promise we'll have lots of laughs for fans of the show."

1. Where was Linda born?

Linda was born on the 13 March 1958 in Islington, London, where she still resides now. She is the daughter of Robert William and Rita Patricia Robson and has two younger sisters, Tina and Debra.

2. How old is Linda Robson?

Linda is currently 62 years old.

3. Who are Linda Robson’s family?

Linda's husband is Mark Dunford, 58. The pair have been happily married since 1990 and have two children, Louis, born in 1992, and Roberta (Bobbie) born in 1996. Linda is mother to Lauren, her eldest child from a previous relationship. She is also a grandmother to Lila and Betsy – Lauren’s children.

On an episode of Loose Women, Linda revealed how she and Mark first met. “I used to babysit for Mark – he was a couple of years younger than me… I was 16 and he was 13 and a half, and he was a bit of a pain, to be honest. And we lived in the street next to each other."

Linda has publicly spoken about her son Louis's PTSD following the stabbing of his friend Ben Kinsella in 2008 when the two were out together while celebrating the results of their GCSEs. She told The Mirror: “It’s something we don’t talk about, and whenever it’s on TV we change the channels because he did really struggle.”

Linda went on the become a patron of The Ben Kinsella Trust which aims to tackle knife crime through education and campaigning.

4. Are Linda Robson and Pauline Quirke still friends?

Birds of a Feather star Pauline is said to be no longer be on speaking terms with her co-stars Linda Robinson and Lesley Joseph, having been friends with Linda for more than 50 years.

Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph are said to have fallen out after a 'huge row' and it was reported that a series of arguments were behind the decision for Pauline Quirke not to taking part in the Birds of a Feather’s recent Christmas special.

Linda explained to The Sun: "Obviously people miss Pauline, but we have to respect that it was her choice not to do it anymore.’

Sadly, it doesn’t appear as though the trio will be making up any time soon. A close source called it a “sad ending” to one of the longest-running friendships in television.

5. How Linda has been spending lockdown

Linda recently shared a video on her Instagram account discussing how she is occupying her time during social distancing.

Looking at the camera, she said: "I should be sitting on a nice beach somewhere sunning myself, but because of obviously what's going on in this country, I can't be. So here I am – with Ernie [the dog] – and my cup of tea, watching these old birds on the telly." The video clip then showed a TV playing a repeated episode of Loose Women, featuring Linda and Janet Street-Porter.

6. Linda on social media

You can follow Linda on Instagram and Twitter. On Instagram in particular she shares lovely posts, including photos of her gorgeous grandchildren, time spent with her Loose Women co-hosts, holiday snaps (maybe more next year!) and fashion advice - we love her shots of modelling designer masks from @donnamaylondon.

Linda is also actively making comedic reels and short-form videos on Instagram and Tik-Tok.

7. Linda thanks NHS in a heart-warming message

In a one off-special Loose Women show, Linda – and her co-hosts – thanked the NHS in a series of home recorded videos. "Where would we all be without our amazing NHS, they have helped me and my family so many times over the years," she said in the video. "I was in hospital many years ago, I would have died without their care, treatment and love they gave me at the UCLH hospital. Thank you NHS."

8. Why Linda took a break from Loose Women

In January 2020, Linda re-joined the Loose Women panel after a year-long break from presenting and bravely shared her battle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, anxiety and depression.

The TV star explained that her OCD reached severe levels as a result of taking medication for sleep. "I went to see somebody about it and they gave me a tablet," Linda explained. "But I had a really bad reaction to it. I had a proper meltdown, I got really bad anxiety, I got really bad depression and my OCD kicked into overdrive."

Linda went on to reveal that friend and fellow panellist Stacey Solomon helped her on her journey to recovery after spotting signs of her OCD, such as seeing her need her phone on full charge at all times.

The mum-of-four explained: "I'd have the mobile chargers, like five or six of them, ready to charge if it ran out." This led to Linda having a six-week stay in a treatment facility.

Linda came out on more medication than before and it was making her hyper, leading her to turn to alcohol.

"The medication they were giving me was making me hyper instead of it calming me down so then I started drinking again because I couldn't face the day," she said.

9. Why Linda Robson tests herself for Dementia

The Birds of a Feather actress was left devastated after the death of her mother Rita, who sadly passed away in 2012 after a battle with Dementia. After seeing her mum suffer from the terrible disease, Linda is terrified she will also get Dementia.

Speaking to the Sunday Mirror newspaper, the 60-year-old actress admits she undergoes regular testing for the disease in a bid to avoid it.

"I try to remember numbers, things like that. It was awful seeing the woman I worshiped deteriorate. There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t think of my mum.

“It’s terrible to watch your loved-one disappear before you. It’s hard when they don’t recognise you or their grandchildren."

Not only is Linda working with the Alzheimer’s Society to help raise money for research, she is also supporting Marie Curie, who made her mums final days more bearable.

"They made my mum's last months and moments the best they possibly could. I can never thank them enough for the way they looked after my mum."

10. The reason behind Linda's weight loss

In 2017, Linda dropped a whopping 2st 7lbs in weight. In a video she shared on Instagram, she explained that it all started when she was dared by the Loose Women team who dared her to go on a sugar-free diet. At the time, she also decided to stop drinking alcohol and started practicing yoga.

On her post, she said, ‘About 18 months ago @loosewomen asked me to go on a sugar free diet gave up my bottle of wine every night and cut out sugar feel healthier and fitter now at 60 than ever lost 3 stone and size 10 love my yoga have a lovely day it’s chilly out there wrap up off to my yoga now happy hump day.’

11. Linda’s worries about her acting career

Birds of a Feather star Linda Robson is worried that her job on the Loose Women panel is stopping her from getting serious acting roles.

The actress has been part of the lunchtime ITV chat show since 2012 and is also a regular on the reality show scene, taking part in various programmes from I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! to controversial road trip Gone to Pot. She’d now love a part in a gritty drama, but has spoken of her concerns that she’s not taken seriously.

“I'd really like to do some more acting, particularly drama,” she told the TV Times. ‘When you do a show like Loose Women or reality shows like Gone To Pot, which I did recently, people see you as more of a celebrity than an actress and you stop getting offered those jobs. I'd really like to be in something like Marcella or Victoria - I could be one of the servants.”

She is, of course, best known for her role as Tracey Stubbs in the much-loved sitcome Birds of A Feather. The series started on BBC One in 1989 and ran for nine years. After popular demand, it was revived in 2014 on ITV and is still going strong. It made household names of Linda, Pauline Quirke (who plays her sister Sharon Theodopolopodous) and Lesley Joseph (who plays OTT neighbour Dorien Green).

She added that, instead of the acting roles she’d love, she tends to get offered more reality shows – and has been offered Strictly Come Dancing twice: "I've been asked a couple of times but I've always said no because I just can't dance. I'd be the joke. I'd be the one in Lycra being swung around, I'd be the Anne Widdecombe."