Keeping Up Appearances actor Patricia Routledge dies aged 96
The actor was best known for her role as the pretentious housewife Hyacinth Bucket, and for the series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
www.theguardian.com
RIP Patricia Routledge
- Thread starter Suzie-Q
- Start date
www.theguardian.com
Buttface
Well-known member
It’s B u c k e t. Bouquet.
RIP
Thanks for the entertainment Pat.
RIP
Thanks for the entertainment Pat.
Buttface
Well-known member
Nana BF was a big fan and we use to watch a lot of it. I always loved the Inlaw dynamic with Onslow, Rose, and Daddy.
I can’t think of the other sister’s name.
If you’d told me a was gunna be a fan of a show that was carried by an older lady that was never a comedian, I would have laughed in your face and replaced your B with an F.
She nailed this line every time.
B U - C K - E T - Bouquet.
One month before her 95th birthday, Dame Patricia Routledge wrote something that I like to share with all of you.
“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.”
My life didn’t quite take shape until my forties. I had worked steadily — on provincial stages, in radio plays, in West End productions — but I often felt adrift, as though I was searching for a home within myself that I hadn’t quite found.
At 50, I accepted a television role that many would later associate me with — Hyacinth Bucket, of Keeping Up Appearances. I thought it would be a small part in a little series. I never imagined that it would take me into people’s living rooms and hearts around the world. And truthfully, that role taught me to accept my own quirks. It healed something in me.
At 60, I began learning Italian — not for work, but so I could sing opera in its native language. I also learned how to live alone without feeling lonely. I read poetry aloud each evening, not to perfect my diction, but to quiet my soul.
At 70, I returned to the Shakespearean stage — something I once believed I had aged out of. But this time, I had nothing to prove. I stood on those boards with stillness, and audiences felt that. I was no longer performing. I was simply being.
At 80, I took up watercolor painting. I painted flowers from my garden, old hats from my youth, and faces I remembered from the London Underground. Each painting was a quiet memory made visible.
Now, at 95, I write letters by hand. I’m learning to bake rye bread. I still breathe deeply every morning. I still adore laughter — though I no longer try to make anyone laugh. I love the quiet more than ever.
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.
With love and gentleness,
— Patricia Routledge
#damepatriciaroutledge
“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.”
My life didn’t quite take shape until my forties. I had worked steadily — on provincial stages, in radio plays, in West End productions — but I often felt adrift, as though I was searching for a home within myself that I hadn’t quite found.
At 50, I accepted a television role that many would later associate me with — Hyacinth Bucket, of Keeping Up Appearances. I thought it would be a small part in a little series. I never imagined that it would take me into people’s living rooms and hearts around the world. And truthfully, that role taught me to accept my own quirks. It healed something in me.
At 60, I began learning Italian — not for work, but so I could sing opera in its native language. I also learned how to live alone without feeling lonely. I read poetry aloud each evening, not to perfect my diction, but to quiet my soul.
At 70, I returned to the Shakespearean stage — something I once believed I had aged out of. But this time, I had nothing to prove. I stood on those boards with stillness, and audiences felt that. I was no longer performing. I was simply being.
At 80, I took up watercolor painting. I painted flowers from my garden, old hats from my youth, and faces I remembered from the London Underground. Each painting was a quiet memory made visible.
Now, at 95, I write letters by hand. I’m learning to bake rye bread. I still breathe deeply every morning. I still adore laughter — though I no longer try to make anyone laugh. I love the quiet more than ever.
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.
With love and gentleness,
— Patricia Routledge
#damepatriciaroutledge
gallagher
Well-known member
She was brilliant as Mrs Bucket. It's lovely reading how he she lived out her later years.
innsaneink
Well-known member
Brilliant piece of comedy whoever came up with that theme of her surname continually mis-pronounced to be able to toss that bit into every episode
The poor old hubby was a good character too
Poms do comedy so much better than the yanks
The poor old hubby was a good character too
Poms do comedy so much better than the yanks
That ^^ is just beautiful 😍
Buttface
Well-known member
Trust you to reference the most obscure character on the show.
I bet your silk pyjamas have red stains down the front.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Buttface
Well-known member
It was nice reading that she enjoyed the show too, it shone through.
Sometimes things just fit, and that happened on that show.
I read Henry Winkler’s autobiography last year and he is the complete opposite to The Fonz, but he nailed that part and so did Pat.
it was a pleasure to watch, and nice to know that she enjoyed it too.
Grand Ma doesn't like my reaction in silk,but i still enjoy her wooden spoon. lol
