Birds of a Feather

Tracey's son Travis mysteriously vanishes in Tangiers, Morocco during his gap year - so the girls fly out to find him. Will they be back in Chigwell for Christmas?

It’s Christmas in Chigwell and the Birds are back. Tracey has got big plans that could upset the festive harmony in the house, Sharon has found a novel way of doing her Christmas shopping and Dorien has got a mystery to solve. What could possibly go wrong? Elsewhere, Garth decides to help the homeless after meeting an attractive homeless busker (guest star Emily Atack), and Travis' new career choice puts him in a difficult place, with Sharon's new shopping method and the family's criminal heritage.

At the end of a 2020 no-one could have predicted, we catch up with the inhabitants of our favourite Essex address... and find big changes in all their lives. Tracey and Dorien have been getting right on each others' thruppennies, while Sharon has escaped to the other side of the world and is stuck on a Covid-cruise... Who can fill the Sharon-shaped hole in their lives this Christmas?

Sharon visits Tracey's luxury house, 'Dalentrace', in Chigwell and meets Dorien for the first time. Meanwhile, their husbands, Chris and Darryl, take part in an armed robbery and are later jailed for twelve years. Sharon moves from her high-rise Edmonton flat to stay at Dalentrace with her sister.

While Sharon is ecstatic that her no-good husband Chris has been sent to prison, Tracey is desperately missing her beloved Darryl and is on tranquilizers. Now she faces another hurdle - trying to find a way to tell her son, Garth, that his father is in prison.

Sharon's day hasn't started well. She accidentally breaks a mug and spills coffee everywhere and then Tracey accuses her of not paying her way. Tracey is having problems with money, so she and Dorien try to sell some clothes. Meanwhile, Sharon has to go back to her job at the supermarket, but she isn't feeling welcome.

Tracey is shocked to receive overdue bills. There is also a letter from Garth, telling Tracey he has had a fight at school and she will have to pay for half the damage. To top it all off, the central heating breaks down and they hire two female plumbers, Alison and Gloria. Shortly after they leave, the tank starts leaking.

Sharon's former neighbour, Lisa, has made a fortune selling a cheap perfume called 'Aromantique', around town. Sharon and Tracey jump on the bandwagon, as they are in desperate need of money. However, when this proves unsuccessful, Tracey decides to sell Darryl’s Jaguar for money. When a prospective buyer comes to view it, he drives it away. Tracey is later told it has been repossessed as Darryl never kept up the payments. At the next prison visit, Darryl tells her he hid £25,000 in the car’s spare wheel. When Tracey tries to buy the car back, Dorien buys it first to save Tracey’s embarrassment at having the car repossessed.

Garth brings home a 17-year-old handsome school friend, Richard, for the holidays. Sharon and Tracey suspect Garth is gay and Dorien tells them she thinks Richard is also gay. When Tracey tells Darryl, he is concerned about the effects of people finding out that his son could be gay. Soon after, Tracey and Sharon speak to Garth, who says he is not gay. Moments later, Dorien says she was wrong about Richard being gay, as she has just slept with him.

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.

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.

Sharon bumps into Dave, her ex-boyfriend from shortly after the boys were sent down. This brings back all the feelings she had when she had the abortion with Dave's baby. But now she feels ready to settle down, and Dave could be just the right man. All she has to do is tell him that she never had a miscarriage. Meanwhile, Tracy gets all motherly when Garth comes home for the weekend.

With the café doing great business, Sharon's in the money, but Tracey is unhappy at being a kept woman.

Tracey disapproves of Garth's decision to enrol at catering college.

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?

Sharon is looking for a man, but the one she likes is attracted to Tracey.

It's an explosive time in Chigwell, with upheavals for Sharon, Tracey and Dorien.

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.

Someone famous is moving to Chigwell. She's guarded by heavies, and her children are called Harry and William. It's no wonder Tracey, Sharon, and Dorien draw the obvious conclusions.

Garth is dating an older divorcee, while Chris has turned his hand to creative writing.

Tracey ponders her contribution to society; a radio phone-in offers one answer.

A Phone call brings exciting news; Darryl will be out in a fortnight, followed by Chris.

With Darryl on the way home, Sharon's time with Tracey is coming to an end.

After his release, Chris swiftly finds himself back inside- this time in a hospital bed.

When Sharon wrecks Tracey's bed, it is the final straw. She promises to get a job and make a contribution - especially with Tracey's baby on the way. A stint in an abattoir ends when she is sacked for stealing meat, but Dorien is looking for a cleaner.

Tracey and Sharon hit on a name for their new cleaning business: 'Maids of Ongar'. After a strenuous day's work though Sharon begins to feel ill.

The girls are short of money, and go to see bank manager Martin Mann. But they suffer a bout of giggles after Tracey calls him 'Mr Mann', and he refuses to lend to the wives of bank robbers - particularly as he was the bank manager Darryl and Chris robbed.

The heavily pregnant Tracey is fed up with Sharon's slobbish habits - in particular her tendency to leave all the kitchen drawers open. But Sharon insists she didn't leave them like that, and when things start to go bump in the night, Tracey becomes convinced they're sharing the house with a poltergeist; thus, the girls and Dorien hold a seance.

Tracey is shocked to hear that Garth has apparently abandoned pregnant ex-girlfriend Kimberley - "typical male behaviour", according to Sharon. Meanwhile, Dorien needs to get to her boyfriend Richard’s before he returns home to find the malicious answer message she has left him.

In pursuit of a wedding present for Garth, the girls visit an antiques market which is being held in an old warehouse. On their arrival, it looks as if they might be in for a long night.

Mouthy Sharon’s living in an Edmonton tower block and is clearly down on her luck, her older sister Tracey’s still living in Chigwell with son Travis, while man-eating Dorien has repackaged herself as Foxy Cohen, author of the sex blockbuster Sixty Shades of Green.

Now that Sharon has given up work, Tracey is the only one in the house bringing in a wage, and it's not nearly enough to pay the bills, so Dorien kindly offers to dip into her savings to help out. However, when she calls the bank it emerges every penny she had has been spent on legal fees. In desperation, the sisters take their old friend to a car-boot sale and sell her beloved collection of designer clothes, right down to the shoes on her feet - which are snapped up by former TOWIE star Amy Childs.

Tracey can't ignore the fact that Garth and Marcie aren't getting any time alone - so she decides to change the bedroom arrangements to give them space and privacy. After failing to sleep in the lounge, Sharon tries to bed down in the loft, where she makes a discovery that might solve all their problems.

Dorien is treating Sharon and Tracey to a Christmas trip to the Canaries, but will it be plane sailing?

Sharon amazes the others when it turns out that she has a high IQ, something Dorien tries to exploit.

Sharon and Tracey discover that Dorien has been keeping a secret for over fifty years, but Dorien is reluctant to confront her past.

Tracey’s ex-husband dies and she has to decide what kind of a send-off to give him. Sharon wants the funeral to be right for her boys, Dorien’s got the perfect outfit, and Chigwell’s criminal fraternity want to make it extra special.

Tracey’s house has been burgled during Darryl’s funeral. The family decide it’s up to them to track down their possessions and set out on a trail involving a snooker club, a pawnbroker and the infamous Theydon Boys drag club.

Sharon’s disapproval of Tracey dating policeman Barry and apparently overlooking Garth’s feelings for his dad lead to a major quarrel between the sisters. Is it one that Dorien, in her new role as Agony Aunt for GetA-Life Magazine, can solve?