Stage and screen actress Dame Patricia Routledge, known for her roles as Hyacinth Bucket in the long-running sitcom “Keeping Up Appearances” and as Henrietta Wainthropp in “Hetty Wainthropp Investigates,” has died. She was 96.
Routledge began her career in theatre and musical theatre and won both a Tony award and an Olivier for her stage work, and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company for several years.
She went on to TV success in the 1980s in Alan Bennett’s “Talking Heads” and “Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV,” before really breaking through in the 1990s.
Her role as the relentlessly pretentious and class-conscious housewife Hyacinth Bucket, a self-deluding snob who insists her last name be pronounced “Bouquet” and whom everyone dreads having to deal with, became one of the most iconic UK sitcom characters of all time and Routledge landed two BAFTA nominations for her often hilarious work in the role.
She also led the mystery procedural series “Hetty Wainthropp Investigates”, which ran for four seasons.
In a statement, her agent says: “We are deeply saddened to confirm the passing of Dame Patricia Routledge, who died peacefully in her sleep this morning, surrounded by love… She will be dearly missed by those closest to her and by her devoted admirers around the world.”
She also starred in the films “To Sir, with Love,” and “Don’t Raise the Bridge, Lower the River” as well as shows like “Steptoe and Son” and “Coronation Street”.
Source: The Guardian
