One way to measure the cultural impact of any television series is whether it is possible to describe someone as looking or behaving like a particular character, and for others to instantly understand and picture what that person is like even though they may never have met them. In the character of Hyacinth Bucket we have exactly that. By insisting that her name is actually pronounced “Bouquet”, the character has become synonymous with a type of middle-class, eccentric and snobbish behaviour. When referring to someone as “a Hyacinth Bucket”, the inference that they are an overbearing social climber who will go to farcical lengths to protect and further their perceived social status is widely recognised.
The sitcom in which she was the central figure, Keeping Up Appearances aired on BBC 1 from 1990 to 1995, following Hyacinth’s attempts to prove her social superiority as she seeks to ingratiate herself with those she considers to be upper class. With her henpecked and long-suffering husband Richard in tow, she regularly visits stately homes in the hope of bumping into members of the landed gentry so that she can then invite them to one of her “exclusive candlelight suppers”.
In typical British sitcom style, much of the humour derives from the central character’s lack of self-awareness and delusions of grandeur: “If there is one thing I can’t stand, it’s snobbery and one-upmanship. People who try to pretend they’re superior. Makes it so much harder for those of us who actually are.”
Whilst Hyacinth believes she is a pillar of the community, the reality is that people often go to extreme lengths to avoid her. This includes her next door neighbour and apparent best friend, Elizabeth, who dreads being invited over the fence for coffee. One of the recurring jokes of the series is how Elizabeth becomes a nervous wreck upon entering the Bucket residence, to the extent that she frequently drops and smashes the crockery. Her brother Emmet, who moves in with her at the start of Series 2, is frequently subjected to Hyacinth’s out-of-tune singing after she learns that he is a musician involved in amateur dramatics, so hopes he will cast her in one of his productions. Even the local vicar finds his patience being tested whenever Hyacinth volunteers to help at church events, often referring to her as “the Bucket woman” behind her back.
Many of the comedic situations arise from Hyacinth’s relationship with her decidedly lower class siblings. We learn from the subsequent prequel Young Hyacinth (a single special broadcast in 2016 and set forty years before the events of the original series) that she worked as a domestic servant for a wealthy family whilst also caring for her three younger sisters and their alcoholic father. Whilst Hyacinth vowed to escape her poor background, at least two of her sisters seemed more content with their more humble, working class lifestyle.
In Keeping Up Appearances, those sisters – Daisy and Rose, along with their senile father and Daisy’s husband, Onslow – live in a worn-down council estate terraced house, greatly contrasting with Hyacinth’s detached bungalow on a leafy, middle class street. Whilst Hyacinth drinks tea out of china cups that she is overly keen to describe to guests as “Royal Doulton with the hand-painted periwinkles”, her wider family use old, chipped mugs – or drink straight from a beer can. Onslow’s laziness and unkempt character, along with Rose’s sexual promiscuity, are of particular embarrassment to Hyacinth. Terrified that her background will be revealed, she goes to great lengths to hide them and ensure that her family don’t cross paths with anyone she might be trying to impress.
Richard, you know I love my family, but that’s no reason why I should have to acknowledge them in broad daylight!
The comic irony is that her attempts often fail and, much to Hyacinth’s consternation, Daisy and Onslow usually end up getting on far better than she does with those they end up meeting from her social circle. Whilst Hyacinth is pleased to be able to frequently boast that her other, elder sister Violet has married a successful man and enjoys a home with “a Mercedes, swimming pool, sauna and room for a pony”, she lacks the empathy to realise that Violet is deeply unhappy in said marriage. Hyacinth also seems oblivious to the fact that her son Sheridan – who the audience never sees – only phones when he needs money, despite her claims that they enjoy a close relationship.
The series was written by Roy Clarke who had already achieved great success in his field having penned the likes of Last Of The Summer Wine and Open All Hours. Given the level of performance she brought to the role and how much she has become associated with the show, it would be easy to assume that Clarke wrote the character of Hyacinth with Patricia Routledge in mind. However, it was experienced comedy producer/director Harold Snoad who thought Routledge would be right for the part and encouraged her to do it.
Although the 1990s would see an increase in female driven mainstream comedy, it was still unusual to see a sitcom that centred so squarely on an older female character. As well as the premise of the show being a risk, Routledge at that time had little experience of this particular television genre, having spent much of her career to date in the theatre. She had, however, shown her comic talents when she played the character of Kitty in Victoria Wood As Seen On TV in 1985.
In Keeping Up Appearances, Routledge proved that she could excel at both verbal and physical comedy elements; always answering her white slimline telephone with “the Bouquet residence, the lady of the house speaking” is just one example of the catchphrases that epitomised the verbal comedy of the series. The physical comedy ranged from her climbing over garden walls and falling in bushes, to Hyacinth’s facial expressions and reactions – often speaking far louder than words ever could. That it is difficult to imagine any other actor playing the role of Hyacinth is testament to the quality of Routledge’s performance and how she inhabited the role.
The supporting cast clearly worked well together and were able to bring their respective characters to life with as much vigour as Routledge. With very little details from the script or directions as to how Hyacinth’s husband Richard should be played, Clive Swift was able to interpret the character in his own way and bring a performance that conveyed both a sense of exasperation at his wife’s behaviour but also a clear love for her that explained their enduring marriage. Josephine Tewson (Elizabeth) and David Griffin (Emmet) were able to bring their previous experiences of comic performing to their roles, with Griffin having previously appeared in hugely popular sitcom Hi-De-Hi! and Tewson regularly working alongside The Two Ronnies.
Judy Cornwell (Daisy), Geoffrey Hughes (Onslow) and Mary Millar (Rose from Series 2) also gave performances that proved to be the perfect foil to Hyacinth. It is clear right from the opening credits that she is the central character, and similarly this band of esteemed performers understood that Routledge was the main star. It proved quickly apparent that this onscreen dynamic was hugely popular with viewers as more than 13 million people were regularly tuning in to watch each episode.
Despite its ongoing popularity, it was inevitable that the series would come to an end when Routledge decided she wanted to pursue other projects. Whilst a fear of being typecast may have contributed to the decision, her main concern seemed to be ensuring that people were left with fond memories of the show. In an interview in 2017 she explained:
I always thought of the great, great Ronnie Barker. He always left something when he was on a high, and it’s much better to have people say now “Oh, why didn’t you do some more?” than having them say “Oh, is that still on?”
Whilst 2016’s Young Hyacinth allowed fans to enter Hyacinth’s world for a final time, the clever decision to frame the episode as a one-off prequel helped deflect unfair comparisons with the original series. Around the same time it was reported that Keeping Up Appearances was the BBC’s most popular overseas export, having enjoyed success in North America, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands, amongst others. Despite the quintessential ‘Englishness’ of the series, audiences across the world clearly resonated with its themes. This must be, in part, because a version of Hyacinth exists in every country and community.
It would be easy for viewers to take an instant dislike to Hyacinth, with Routledge even describing the character as ‘a monster’. Clive Swift was often asked why Richard didn’t simply leave his domineering wife, given that she treated him so badly. The answer is of course that, despite her obvious faults, he loves her and they are family. Similarly, viewers – who could see traits of Hyacinth in their own relatives – resonated with the feeling of both loving someone, whilst at the same also finding them incredibly frustrating.
Being able to laugh at this paradox brought an undoubted release of tension, which is why the series, and the character of Hyacinth Bucket (sorry – ‘Bouquet’), will continue to be enjoyed around the world for many decades to come.
