Dame Patricia Routledge, famous for playing the pretentious social climber Hyacinth Bucket in TV sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, has died at the age of 96. The multi-award-winning star of stage and screen "died peacefully in her sleep surrounded by love" yesterday morning.
In a statement, her agent said: "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."
Fans roared with laughter when the socially ambitious Hyacinth answered the phone, introducing herself:"The 'Bouquet' residence, the lady of the house speaking." Paying tribute, Jon Petrie, BBC director of comedy, called her "an actor of remarkable range" who had made "millions laugh" - and whose portrayal of Hyacinth Bucket "has to be one of the most iconic performances in British comedy".
He added: "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."
Emmerdale star Lisa Riley, who starred opposite Routledge in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, said: "Rest In Peace, Dear Dame Pat, you taught me so so much when we worked together, I was only 14 years old, playing your little novice super sleuth trouble maker... You've kept the nation so happy with your comedic timing over the years - now all the angels are laughing. What a career you've had."
Actress Kerry Howard, 43, who played a young Hyacinth Bucket in a 2016 Keeping Up Appearances prequel, said: "She was a monolithic talent who became a comic beacon to me. I would watch her every week as Hyacinth and then spend the rest of the week pretending to be her.

"She was my first drama teacher although we never ever actually met, she has informed so much of my comedic sensibilities. A wonderful clown has left this world, but I'd like to think her energy and gifts go beyond the grave."
Dame Patricia's brilliantly British class-conscious character, who insisted her surname Bucket was actually pronounced "Bouquet", saw Routledge nominated for two BAFTAs for her portrayal of a snobbish housewife. The show captivated audiences between 1990 and 1995, attracting 13 million viewers at its peak. It was also a hit with US television audiences.
Fan mail included letters from boys as young as eight who were delighted to see a bossy woman "meet her comeuppance", as Routledge put it.
Despite being a critically-acclaimed theatre actress and opera trained singer, she once remarked of the character: "It would be churlish of me not to appreciate what it brought me. If a good number of people come into a theatre because they know me from the dreaded Mrs B, I couldn't be happier."
Routledge also starred in Alan Bennett's acclaimed Talking Head TV monologues including A Lady of Letters for which she was BAFTA nominated. Her other television roles included Kitty in Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV in the mid-1980s and BBC One's cosy crime-buster Hetty Wainthropp Investigates from 1996 to 1998.
A character actor of huge versatility, she was known as "the female Stan Laurel" in the theatre world. She appeared in Richard III and Henry V for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and The Importance of Being Earnest.
In 1968, she won a Tony award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical for her role in Darling of the Day. In 1988, she earned an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical in Candide. Patricia Routledge was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, on February 17, 1929. Her father was a haberdasher and a high class gentlemen's outfitter.
She was educated at Birkenhead High School and the University of Liverpool where she gained a degree with honours in English Language and Literature. While there she joined the university's dramatic society, where she worked closely with the academic Edmund Colledge, who both directed and acted in several of the society's productions. It was he who persuaded her to pursue an acting career.
After graduating, she trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and returned to Liverpool to begin her acting career at the Liverpool Playhouse before making her Broadway debut in 1966 in How's the World Treating You.
Her film roles included the Sidney Poitier drama To Sir, with Love in 1967 and Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River in 1968 alongside Jerry Lewis. In later life Routledge lived in Chichester in West Sussex. A regular worshipper at Chichester Cathedral in 2020, she helped to raise £10,000 to restore its roof. She was awarded a Damehood in 2017 for her services to theatre and charity.
Routledge never married and had no children. She said in a 2001 interview: "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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