Dame Patricia Routledge: The life of TV's magnificently snobby 'Hyacinth Bucket'
Just now Share Save Share Save
Getty Images
Dame Patricia Routledge, who has died at the age of 96, imprinted herself on the national consciousness as the snobby Hyacinth Bucket. Insisting it was "pronounced Bouquet," Hyacinth ran roughshod over her long-suffering husband and bewildered neighbours in Keeping Up Appearances, one of Britain's most successful sitcoms in the 1990s. Behaving like an duchess while living in a suburb, Bucket's monstrous social-climbing schemes were ultimately doomed to failure - while she battled to maintain her dignity. It was Dame Patricia's most famous role in a career that saw her win theatrical awards on both sides of the Atlantic, become the star of Alan Bennett's famous TV mo
Continue Reading on BBC News
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.