Keeping Up Appearances icon Dame Patricia Routledge has died aged 96. Photo / Getty Images
Keeping Up Appearances icon Dame Patricia Routledge has died aged 96. Photo / Getty Images
Keeping Up Appearances icon Dame Patricia Routledge has died.
The actor – best known for playing the overbearing, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket, pronounced Bouquet, in the legendary BBC sitcom – died on Friday aged 96.
In a statement, Routledge’s agent said: “We are deeply saddened to confirm the passing ofDame Patricia Routledge, who died peacefully in her sleep this morning, surrounded by love.
“Even at 96 years old, Dame Patricia’s passion for her work and for connecting with live audiences never waned, just as new generations of audiences have continued to find her through her beloved television roles.
“She will be dearly missed by those closest to her and by her devoted admirers around the world.”
Dame Patricia Routledge (left) was best known for playing the overbearing, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket, pronounced Bouquet, in the legendary BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances. Photo / Getty Images
Many of Routledge’s fans took to X to pay tribute to the late acting legend.
The show – created and written by 95-year-old Roy Clarke – aired until 1995, and it followed Bucket trying to climb up the social ladder by impressing rich and successful people.
However, it was her middle-class working family who held her back from achieving that.
Pearl-wearing snob Bucket used to throw candlelight suppers and would call people on her and her husband Richard’s (Clive Swift’s) white slimline telephone.
And Bucket quickly became an iconic character on British - and global - television.
Speaking in a talk at the Derby Theatre in 2024, Routledge said she received letters from fans of the show – almost three decades after it ended.
The star – who won a British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Actress for her performance on Keeping Up Appearances – said: “I get letters still from all over the world even though we made the last series in 1995.
