Linda Robson: 'A few days' work on surf ads - and we got 250 grand!' At primary school, I was just eight when my English teacher Anna Scher opened a drama school and taught kids, including myself, Pauline Quirke, Gary and Martin Kemp, Gillian Taylforth and Kathy Burke for 10p a class. My first job was for Jackanory Playhouse and my next film was for the Children's Film Foundation. I remember being so excited on a film set in Dorset. I was the first person in my family to have a bank account at just nine, even though I can't remember how much I got paid. When the film was shown at Carlton Cinema, Essex Road, Mum took my sisters and I down to Saturday-morning pictures and every time I came on screen, all my lot cheered! Your career spans Birds of a Feather, Grumpy Old Women, panto, radio, I'm A Celebrity, Loose Women and a hugely popular ad campaign for Surf washing powder. What's been your most lucrative job? I'd probably say the Surf adverts. We filmed only four or five days a year and it was massive. It was all about Surf and wasn't really about us. They'd have special packets on set that took hours to be lit up and looked immaculate. Supermarkets didn't even stock it before our adverts, but when we did the campaign, sales shot up. They ran three years and we got paid maybe 250 grand. It was quite a lot of money at that time considering how little work we had to do. It was a huge film set, we walked in on the first day and met two women hired as our stand-ins. We'd never experienced anything like that so it was quite a shock. We didn't even feel that we needed stand-ins but also felt we couldn't put them out of a job. Birds of a Feather topped television ratings for a decade. How dramatic was your lifestyle change? From the day after the first episode went out, we got recognised everywhere and everyone in the country seemed to know us. We'd always lived in council properties and I remember as a youngster in Islington thinking: "Oh my God, I'll never afford one of these houses." Then, all of a sudden we could. When I met my husband, Mark, he owned his own little house in Chingford so he sold it and we pooled our money to buy together. We bought when I was pregnant with my son Louis in 1991. It was quite a while after Birds started and I think we paid something like £275,000. We bought a two-bed house in Islington, but because I was pregnant and already had a daughter, Lauren, nine, it wasn't a very wise move. We sold it quite quickly and bought a three-bed house in Islington and lived there for about 11 years. We sold that one for about £1.1m and have now moved to a smaller, modern house. What's your proudest achievement? Birds of a Feather is the one I've got most affection for because we worked together for 10 years and now we're all back together. It's something everyone loves us for. Some actors do shows and then don't want to talk about it, but we're very proud. When we finished the very last episode, the director called "Cut!," the three of us just clung together crying. We had the same crew for the whole 10 years. Normally at the end of each show, we'd go to the bar and drink with the crew, but that night, we all decided just to go home because it was too hard to say goodbye. Linda Robson and Pauline Quirke in Birds of a Feather Is Birds still a good earner royalty-wise? With the new series of Birds of a Feather, we get paid our fee and we don't earn repeat fees if it's shown abroad. Repeats of the original series aren't shown on terrestrial channels very much so I get a couple of hundred pounds every now and again. It's always nice to get a cheque I wasn't expecting. Are you a spender or saver? A spender, though I don't really buy myself much. With Loose Women, they give us our clothes and on Birds of a Feather I can buy my wardrobe back cheaply - so that's my clothes taken care of. I like buying things for my family and friends and I can't go anywhere without bringing back something for my granddaughter Lila, even if it's just a CBeebies comic or Kinder Egg as I like seeing her face light up. What's been your most indulgent purchase? I once bought an outfit from a shop called Voyage for David Seaman's wedding. I was looking around and couldn't find anything to wear. So our costume lady from Birds rang and made an appointment. I felt like I was auditioning just to get into the shop! They made beautiful hand-finished clothes and it cost more than £1,000, whereas normally I like Zara, Top Shop and John Lewis, so for me this was really unusual. It's been right through my family. My sisters have all worn it and I still wear it now. I've never been back so it was a one-off buy but I've got no regrets as I still love it. What's been your best and worst financial move? My best decision was getting on the property ladder because my family never owned their own home. I've done quite well with property but when I got my first key, I was scared and worried, "What if I never work again? I won't be able to afford the mortgage! Paying rent was easy but thanks to Birds, the Surf commercials and lots of different work, we were able to buy a lovely house. Our best buy was a big Georgian house that we sold and we've been in our present home for eight years. After a mice infestation in our old house, I wanted modern skirting and floorboards. My worst decision was buying our first two-bed home in Arlington Avenue [see above]. How do you pay: cash, debit or credit card? Just debit card, though at one time, I had every shop card you can imagine. One day my accountant asked why I had them and I said: "I don't know, every time I go in a shop, someone gives me a card." He advised me to get rid of them and just keep the debit card so that's what I did. Are you surprised how successful your acting career was and is? Oh my God, when the first episode of the new series of Birds went out in January, the response was amazing. We were really nervous, it had been 16 years since it was on television and the audience told us they were worried it wouldn't be so good. But it's been brilliant. It portrays women our age; I'm 56, Pauline is 55 and Lesley is 69. I think the television company worried that three women our age wouldn't be able to hold a series, but now there's a whole new audience of seven-year-olds watching with their parents, nans and grandads. Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph returned to Birds of a Feather this year Has the downturn affected acting salaries? If you did a voice-over or advert before, you'd get quite a lot of money plus repeat fees. If I get an email from my agent nowadays, it might say: "We're looking for a woman to play this part and the fee is £500." Take it or leave it. There's no discussion anymore whereas before, people bought houses just from doing a voice-over. So was it tough teaching your children the value of money? My kids have always worked. Lauren is 31 and had a Saturday job from the age of 15 in our local market. Louis is on the brink of signing with record labels but still works part-time as a waiter, and studies music at college, and my other daughter, Bobbie, worked Saturdays for Debenhams. We always helped them out when we needed to but they all know they need a job. Do you give to charity? I'm a trustee of Children with Cancer and patron of the Ben Kinsella Trust. With Ben Kinsella, a fantastic exhibition was taken around schools showing children three routes that can happen from carrying a knife and how it affects parents, kids and everyone around you. I've been involved for 22 years for Children with Cancer, a family-run charity, that's raised more than £165m. Obviously it eases a lot of worries and I'm earning a few bob at the moment. But I know I've got to look after it because there's been times when I've had lean years and not been so busy. I just have to remember that I'm 56 now and I know acting won't go on forever. But I'm busier now than I've ever been. Linda Robson stars in 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" at the Beck Theatre, Hayes, from December 13-January 4, 2015.