Dame Patricia Routledge, one of Britain’s finest and most widely loved actresses, has passed away at the age of 96.
Best known as the wonderfully snobbish Hyacinth Bucket (or “Bouquet,” as she preferred) in the popular BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, she became a part of the national psyche through her comedic genius and unforgettable presence. Hyacinth was the suburban social climber with visions of grandeur, much to the confusion of her neighbors and the despair of her long-suffering husband. Her ill-fated efforts to rise through the social ranks while preserving her dignity made her a 1990s British television comedy legend. The show lasted five series and four Christmas specials, emerging as BBC Worldwide’s most exported programme and bringing Routledge’s comic talent to viewers as far afield as Botswana. Her performance was allegedly admired by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and Pope Benedict XVI. She was even elected Britain’s favourite actress of all time in 1996, although five years later she opted out of the position to prevent herself from becoming repetitive and so preserve her legacy.
Katherine Patricia Routledge was born on 17 February 1929 in Birkenhead where her father was a haberdasher. During the Second World War, she took cover from German bombs in the shop basement where her father had taken over to live while he worked. She read English at Liverpool University with a view to becoming a teacher, but the stage called irresistibly. She became a member of the Liverpool Playhouse before training at the Bristol Old Vic, commencing a career in theatre, film, radio, and television that would last a lifetime.
Her career on stage was as glittering as her work on film. She transitioned from provincial theatre to the West End and eventually Broadway, where she won recognition for her musical and dramatic versatility. In 1968 she received a Tony Award for her acting in Darling of the Day. In 1976 Leonard Bernstein himself selected her to play his Broadway musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. At the National Theatre, she took on the role of Nettie Fowler in Carousel, delivering a stirring rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone. She also worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon and at the National Theatre, showcasing her remarkable ability to shift seamlessly from comedy to classic drama.
Film provided the lesser parts but still show-stopping cameos, such as in To Sir, With Love (1967) and Jerry Lewis’s Don’t Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (1968). Television, however, gave her the career-defining opportunity. She worked on early series like Z Cars and Steptoe and Son, and subsequently gained critical respect through her work with playwright Alan Bennett. His celebrated Talking Heads monologues featured some that were especially written for her, including A Woman of No Importance and A Lady of Letters. Although initially unwilling to perform Bennett’s plays, she gave richly human performances, especially in Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet, in which she portrayed a solitary department store shop assistant whose life is altered after an unconventional affair with a podiatrist.
Routledge also had a humorous splash in The Victoria Wood Show playing the camp Kitty Pettigrew, which set up her classic creation of Hyacinth Bucket. When Roy Clarke, already a star for Last of the Summer Wine and Open All Hours, wrote to her with Keeping Up Appearances, Routledge immediately identified with the character. She remembered reading the script late at night and immediately recognizing Hyacinth, commenting, “I knew that woman, I knew several of that woman.” Her performance resonated so deeply that the character is one of the most enduring in British comedy history.
While comedy had initially made her a household name, she soon returned to drama with Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, depicting a sharp amateur sleuth. However, Routledge herself always maintained that theatre was the true challenge for an actress. Even after stepping away from mainstream television appearances, she toured UK and foreign theatres well into her advanced years, often reminding interviewers that the term “retirement” did not exist for her.
She kept her private life away from the public, dedicating it mostly to art. She never married or bore children, but openly admitted two magnificent affairs in her early years, one of which was with a married man and left her guilty and aware of certain loss. She remained earthy despite her celebrity status, giving credit to her Northern background and robust family ties for having the good sense in life and finances. Honours never puffed up her ego; when she became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2017, she took it with humility. She was never swept up by accolades like Hyacinth.
Routledge was famous for being candid. She was caustic about the BBC’s 2016 announcement to re-stage Keeping Up Appearances using a young iteration of Hyacinth, labeling it as a desperate measure. She also fought with the broadcaster when it refused to commission her Beatrix Potter documentary, which it eventually screened on Channel 4. In later life, she retired peacefully to Chichester, where she devoted herself to the fundraising campaign for the cathedral roof. On her 90th birthday, she was characteristically lucid, quipping that if she ever inherited a windfall, she would be happy to spend it on “a case of champagne,” a luxury her most celebrated creation would have appreciated.
Dame Patricia Routledge’s legacy is her remarkable story of versatility. She went from Shakespeare and musicals to Alan Bennett monologues and sitcom success, bringing intelligence, wit, and depth to each role. Though she often expressed surprise at having spent her life on stage and screen, audiences and colleagues alike were never surprised by her brilliance. “I was never stage-struck,” she once said. “Nobody’s more surprised than I am that I have, in fact, spent my life doing this.” Britain has lost one of its best actresses with her death, a woman whose Hyacinth Bucket will be remembered in sitcom lore but whose body of work was richer and deeper than that one unforgettable character.
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