Actress Dame Patricia Routledge, best known for her iconic role as Hyacinth Bucket on Keeping Up Appearances, has died aged 96, her agent has announced.
In a statement, Dame Patricia’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.”
The sitcom legend was best known for her leading role in Keeping Up Appearances as Hyacinth Bucket, which she played from 1990 to 1995. Patricia's performance saw her win a British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Actress.
The show, which followed Hyacinth Bucket's trials and tribulations as the snobby character tried to climb the social ladder, was a huge success and attracted as many as 13million viewers at its peak. In 1996, a year after the show ended, she was named Britain’s all-time favourite actress. Meanwhile, Channel 4 listed the show as one of the Greatest 100 sitcoms of all time in 2001.
In an interview in October 2024, the actress revealed she still received fan mail over the sitcom. she said: "I get letters still from all over the world even though we made the last series in 1995.
"I had a letter from a lad of nine or 10 a few weeks ago saying how much the family enjoy it and watch it together."
Patricia continued: "He said 'my dad's been laughing at a woman like you across the road for years'. Wonderful.
"Fans in America still hold candlelight suppers (infamously organised by Hyacinth in the TV series) and invite me. People like it because there's no smut."
As well as her iconic comedy role, Patricia also starred in Alan Bennett's TV monologues and played the leading role in BBC's Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and played Kitty in Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV and also appeared in the theatre, regularly appearing on the West End stage in productions including The Importance of Being Earnest, Little Mary Sunshine and Noises Off.
Tributes to the acting and comedy icon have already begun pouring in as the BBC's director of comedy, Jon Petrie, shared a statement. It read: “We are so sad to hear of the passing of Dame Patricia Routledge.
“She was an actor of remarkable range, but her portrayal of Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances has to be one of the most iconic performances in British comedy.
“She took a character on the page and gave her such truth, precision and warmth that Hyacinth became part of the national conversation; instantly recognisable, endlessly quotable, and loved around the world.
“Whatever she did, she brought impeccable craft and in doing so inspired generations of writers, performers and audiences.
“Dame Patricia made millions laugh and left a legacy that will always be remembered with gratitude and admiration.”
And podcaster and etiquette expert William Hanson, who runs an official fan podcast for Keeping Up Appearances called The luxury Podcast, wrote on X: "Dame Patricia Routledge, 1929 - 2025. Now off to the candlelight supper in the sky. Thank you for everything. Hyacinth’s final words in Keeping Up Appearances seem fitting." He then added a clip of the final scene from the show, in which Hyacinth is seen on a stretcher being placed in an ambulance as she says: "Tell God it's 'bouquet'" – in reference to how Hyacinth preferred her surname pronounced.
Meanwhile a fan added: "The fabulous Patricia Routledge who brought us the marvellous Kitty in the 80’s and the hilarious social climber Hyacinth Bucket in the 90’s has sadly passed away. What a woman! May she RIP."
Another added: "RIP Patricia Routledge. She has departed for the great Candlelight Supper in the sky."
Dame Patricia was born in Birkenhead, Merseyside where her father was a high-class gents’ outfitter where ‘keeping up appearances’ was the name of the game.
She read English at Liverpool University where she appeared in student shows, later making her professional debut at the Liverpool Playhouse.
Dame Patricia was awarded an OBE in 1993, a CBE in 2004, and was made a dame in the 2017 New Year Honours.
Other accolades included an Olivier Award for her role as the Old Lady in Bernstein’s operetta Candide in 1988 and a Tony Award for her part as Alice Challice in Darling Of The Day in 1968.
Speaking in 2017, she said she had no favoured role from her long career on the stage, adding: “I don’t do beloved roles, I’ve just had a wonderfully interesting time with so many roles.”
Dame Patricia never married and had no 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.”
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