Dame Patricia Routledge, the actress best known for her iconic role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, has died at the age of 96. Her agent confirmed that she passed away peacefully in her sleep.
Routledge played the snobbish social climber Hyacinth Bucket (who insisted her surname was pronounced 'Bouquet') from 1990 to 1995. The show attracted up to 13 million viewers at its peak and was named one of the greatest 100 sitcoms of all time by Channel 4 in 2001. She won a British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Actress for her performance.
In an interview in October 2024, Routledge revealed she still received fan mail from around the world. She said: 'I get letters still from all over the world even though we made the last series in 1995. Fans in America still hold candlelight suppers and invite me. People like it because there's no smut.'
Beyond Keeping Up Appearances, Routledge starred in Alan Bennett's TV monologues, played the lead in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, and appeared in Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV. She also had a distinguished stage career, performing in West End productions such as The Importance of Being Earnest and Noises Off.
Born in Birkenhead, Merseyside, Routledge was made a dame in 2017 for her services to theatre and charity. Tributes have poured in, with BBC director of comedy Jon Petrie calling her portrayal of Hyacinth 'one of the most iconic performances in British comedy'.
