Patricia Routledge, who played camp comedy icon Hyacinth Bucket, dies aged 96
Patricia Routledge played Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances (Getty/BBC)
Patricia Routledge played Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances (Getty/BBC)
Much-loved Keeping Up Appearances star Dame Patricia Routledge has died, her agent has confirmed. She was 96.
In a statement, Routledge’s agent said: “We are deeply saddened to confirm the passing of Dame 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.”
Routledge was best known for her portrayal of comedy character Hyacinth Bucket in the comedy series Keeping Up Appearances, which ran from 1990 to 1995 and followed the misadventures of the class-obsessed Middle Englander, who repeatedly demanded that people pronounce her surname as “Bouquet.”
The character became a firm favourite amongst the LGBTQ community, with many gay men in particular hailing her as a “camp icon” in the vein of other female sitcom characters like Mrs Slocombe from Are You Being Served? or Patsy Stone from Absolutely Fabulous.
“Let yourself bloom again”
Ahead of her 95th birthday, she shared an inspiring message with fans: “I’ll be turning 95 this coming Monday. In my younger years, I was often filled with worry – worry that I wasn’t quite good enough, that no one would cast me again, that I wouldn’t live up to my mother’s hopes. But these days begin in peace, and end in gratitude.
“I’m writing this to tell you something simple. Growing older is not the closing act. It can be the most exquisite chapter – if you let yourself bloom again. Let these years ahead be your treasure years. You don’t need to be famous. You don’t need to be flawless. You only need to show up – fully – for the life that is still yours.”
There was a lot more to Routledge than Hyacinth Bucket. Aged 66, she played a pensioner-turned-detective, Hetty Wainthropp, in a £3m six-part BBC TV crime series that was almost as popular as Keeping Up Appearances.
Born in Tranmere, Cheshire in 1929, Routledge was educated at Birkenhead High School, the University of Liverpool, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and the Guildhall School of Music, according to The Independent.
She was awarded an OBE in 1993 and a CBE in 2004, and was made a dame in the 2017 new year honours.
Did Patricia Routledge have a partner?
Patricia Routledge never married, or had children. She once said: “I didn’t make a decision not to be married and not to be a mother. Life just turned out like that because my involvement in acting was so total.”
