
Birds of a Feather (1989)
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Peter Polycarpou as Chris Theodopolopodous
Episodes 39
Keep Off the Grass
Sharon and Tracey witness a friend of their husbands', Vinny Hutchins, making a speedy getaway from a post office raid in which a pensioner has been injured. While Tracey wants to turn him in, Sharon vehemently disagrees as it's against criminal ethics. After visiting Darryl and Chris, they change their minds. When Dorien is round, they see an appeal on 'Crime Busters' and Dorien recognises Vinny. Sharon and Tracey, after hearing about the reward money, decide to tell the police but Dorien rings first and uses the money to buy a kitchen from her toyboy Luke, who has been threatened with a move to Northern England unless he sells more kitchens. Tracey, however, blackmails Dorien to give her the kitchen so Vinny's wife can sell it to fund a new life abroad.
Read MoreBrief Encounter
Sharon goes to the aid of 53-year-old Don Sheridan who is mugged at Chigwell tube station. That evening, they accidentally meet at a bar and he says he is in Chigwell on business as financial adviser to Marcus, who is apparently near to going under. They go out several times and sleep together, despite him being married. On his final night before going home, they plan to re-live the 1960s by taking drugs, which Sharon had been given to pass to Chris in prison. The police arrive to return Don's wallet, leading Don to flush the drugs down the toilet. Meanwhile, Dorien pays £2000 to have her telephone number changed to 071, as she sees it as more exclusive.
Read MoreTrust
Tracey is doing her best to quit smoking and is undergoing psychotherapy, where she develops a crush on the psychotherapist, Gerald. Darryl suspects she is having an affair and forbids her to see Gerald again. Nonetheless, Tracey soon meets him in a wine bar. She tells Gerald of her feelings and he says they should not see each other again, as she has developed an emotional dependency. Sharon and Dorien then persuade Tracey not to tell Darryl the feelings she had for Gerald and before long she is back on the cigarettes.
Read MoreParting
Chris begs Sharon to visit him, but she tells him that she plans to sell her wedding ring and forget she ever met him. Then Chris reveals that one of his testicles is expanding, but Sharon doesn't believe him. He is soon diagnosed with a malignant tumor in the testicle. She goes to see him in hospital and Chris says he still loves her, but Sharon still wants their relationship to end. Tracey is annoyed by this, but Sharon wants to move on with her life. She does agree to continue seeing Chris on occasion.
Read MoreFalling in Love Again
Chris owes two fellow prisoners £3000 and their wives threaten Sharon and Tracey. Chris has a plan to raise the money which involves Sharon going to Germany to pick up a collectable car that he had while in Germany with the Army during the Cold War. Sharon manages to win a week in Berlin on the game show Second Time Lucky presented by Leslie Crowther. She is accompanied by Barry, the show's other winner and Tracey. Sharon and Barry don't get on well and try to keep separate as they tour the city with the cameras while Tracey tracks down the car, with the help of mechanic Manfred. Tracey and Manfred soon start to fall in love with each other. Back in England, Tracey ends their relationship over the telephone when she realises how much she loves Darryl. However, Manfred still sends the car over. Meanwhile, Luke dumps Dorien and she tries to get more romantic with Marcus, who she soon discovers is having an affair with a younger woman.
Read MoreKeeping Up Appearances
Chris wins the premium bond, so Sharon tries to force his signature to keep the money for herself. Meanwhile, when Tracy visits Daryl, she finds him to be unkept and unclean. When Sharon comments on this, Tracy kicks her out.
Read MoreTinker, Tailor
When a man, Charles Fitzroy, knocks on the door one evening asking for some water for his car, Sharon tells him all about Dorien and her relationships, which he seems interested in. After visiting Chris in prison, Sharon suspects that Charles may have been a police spy interested in the proceeds of Darryl and Chris' crimes. Soon after two policemen come round and they ask about the whereabouts of Dorien and Marcus, who needs to be questioned about a major fraud case of which he was the accountant. Sharon tells them they are on holiday in Zurich. When Dorien returns she finds that a Sunday newspaper has an article on her private life, and Sharon and Tracey feel guilty.
Read MoreJust Family
Darryl's parents, Les and Olive Stubbs, get into touch for the first time since his trial. Despite always hating them, Tracey invites them round for dinner. Dorien insists on coming round for the evening and helping with the cooking - although it later turns out she did this as she was expecting a boyfriend to call her on their number. A few days later Les and Olive write a letter to Darryl saying that Tracey's house is depraved and he suggests they move their from the prefab in Poplar. Tracey and Sharon are horrified by this. When Darryl's parents and Tracey all visit him in prison, an argument soon occurs and he finds out what his parents are really like.
Read MoreConfidence
With money tight, Sharon has taken a job, but Tracey seems reluctant to follow, despite Sharon and Dorien's encouragement. Tracey admits to having little confidence, having never been allowed to work during her marriage, but Sharon volunteers her to do some voluntary work for Siobhan, the editor of the prisoners' dependents newsletter. Sharon then goes with Tracey when she goes to apply for a receptionist job but is worried about the application form, which makes her realise how few qualifications and little experience she has. Sharon gets the job by lying on the application form.
Read MorePoetic Justice
Chris and Darryl are temporarily in Albany prison on the Isle of Wight. Sharon cancels her visit for Dorien so she can interview Chris about sexual deprivation for her OU dissertation. But while Dorien becomes the centre of attention, Tracey becomes a victim of food poisoning after eating at a motorway cafe.
Read MoreWe'll Always Have Majorca
Sharon and Tracy are given the use of a holiday villa in Majorca by an old friend of the boys. Garth, who's working for Dor's husband, manages to get them and Dor free tickets over there. But he fails to mention why. That becomes obvious, when they step into the villa and see Daryl and Chris, who have escaped from jail while doing a music performance.
Read MoreBreadwinner
With the café doing great business, Sharon's in the money, but Tracey is unhappy at being a kept woman.
Read MoreCommitments
Sharon's husband Chris wants to dump her for another woman, and take the café away from her. Meanwhile, Dorien is leaving her husband and everything she owns for the youthful charms of lusty Luke. But how will she cope in his sleazy flat in Walthamstow?
Read MoreNine and a Half Days
Sharon has a new man in her life, Gil, and this time it could be the real thing as far as she's concerned. The only trouble is that he wants her to move to Norfolk with him and Tracey is not happy. Oddly enough though it's Chris,who is having problems in prison, who persuades her to stay.
Read MoreBelongings
Fed up with her slobbish Greek customers, Sharon decides to make her cafe more upmarket and orders from a Jewish caterer suggested by Dorien. She is ostracized by the entire Greek community and the cafe looks like closing until she visits a Greek Orthodox priest who saves the day for her.
Read MoreHungry for Love
After Darryl comments that she has put on weight Tracey goes on a diet,suffering but losing ten pounds in the process, but when she goes back to see Darryl he is now worried she looks too alluring and needs her reassurance. Dorien cannot fathom why Brett,her hunky young builder,does not want sex with her and assumes he is gay but Sharon gets to find out otherwise.
Read MoreTime and Tides
Dorien is depressed because she has reached the menopause but hormone replacement treatment soon puts the smile back on her face. Tracey is annoyed because she feels Darryl fails to give Garth sufficient praise but all is sorted out on a visit. But can Sharon and Chris' little problem, his infertility, be solved by adopting a Bulgarian orphan?
Read MoreLoyalty
Sharon needs eight grand up front when the landlords of her café want to increase the rent in line with her new lease. Tracey refuses to put her house up as collateral and Dorien, who has a few grand to dispose of for tax purposes, gives it to charity after Sharon insults her. Fortunately Sharon has confidence in herself as a business woman to meet the problem head on.
Read MoreThe Chigwell Connection
When the case against Darryl's associate Trevor Mimms is thrown out of court due to unreliable evidence from Inspector Tatum - who arrested Darryl and Chris - the sisters wonder if their lads might have been fitted up by Tatum and start a campaign to free the Chigwell Two. Tracey goes on daytime TV and finds a lawyer to fight the case but she comes to realise that she may be kidding herself. Dorien is unsympathetic until Marcus is arrested as a suspected drugs baron. When Trevor gets sent down for another robbery the sisters realise the truth but he does give them a Christmas bonus,as do Tatum and,after Marcus' name is cleared, Dorien.
Read MoreNon-Starter
Dorien tries, and fails, to sell her unwanted furniture, and Sharon badgers Tracey into giving her driving lessons; after one of Sharon's disastrous driving tests it doesn't take long for Tracey's nerves to go bad. Eventually, Sharon's driving errors lead to her crashing into the van taking Darryl and Chris to a new prison, and the girls are suspected of organising a jail-break - before making the joke spot on the news.
Read MoreMrs Robinson
Garth is dating an older divorcee, while Chris has turned his hand to creative writing.
Read MoreAbsent Friends
After a spate of burglaries, the sisters find themselves on the agenda of a Neighbourhood Watch meeting at Dorien's house. But is there a connection between the crimes and the anonymous letters and calls Tracey has been receiving?
Read MoreSuspicious Minds
Dorien's husband goes missing, and she's later seen digging a suspiciously man-shaped hole in the garden, prompting Sharon and Tracey to fear their man-hungry neighbour has taken to murder as a sideline.
Read MoreMind Over Matter
Sharon has toothache, but won't go to the dentist. When Dorien tries to help, the result is chaos.
Read MoreFind the Lady
A mystery pension fund payment leads Tracey, Sharon and Dorien on a voyage of discovery which ends with a big surprise.
Read MoreAll Gone Pear Shaped
Sharon faces a crisis in her relationship with Colin, Tracey has a new friend, and Dorien feels left out. In Chigwell, feathers are ruffled.
Read MoreA Beautiful Game
Tracey manages a boys' football team, while Dorien finds a psychic who will change her life. In the end, the two worlds collide.
Read MoreIt Happened in Hollywood
When Sharon And Tracy find out that their real father could be actor George Hamilton, Dor takes them on a trip to Hollywood to try and find out for sure. But chaos ensues when they sneak onto the backlot of George's new movie.
Read MoreFirst Time Caller
Tracey ponders her contribution to society; a radio phone-in offers one answer.
Read MoreCompulsion
Dorien's spending sprees are ever-more lavish - but why?
Read MoreAll Day and All of the Night
Chris's cousin seems intent on turning the café into a drinking den.
Read MoreBuisness is Buisness
Sharon struggles to run the café alongside the pool business.
Read MoreOn the Glass
Sharon's order book is empty, and Dorien has had her credit card limit slashed.
Read MoreChristmas in Dreamland
It's Christmas Eve. After over-indulging, Sharon nods off and dreams of a very different life. Chris is a rich and famous pop star, she is his glamorous diva wife, and Dorien is their virginal spinster cleaning lady. Tracey, meanwhile, is a down and out, living in a council flat with her layabout husband Darryl and their delinquent son Garth.
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