“A Monster in Pearls”: Patricia Routledge’s Candid Confession About Hyacinth Bucket and the Legacy of Keeping Up Appearances

With her perfectly pressed floral dresses, delicate bone china, and that unforgettable cry of “The Bouquet residence, the lady of the house speaking!”, Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced “Bouquet,” of course) remains one of British comedy’s most enduring—and endearing—icons. But in a revealing look back at the beloved BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, the woman behind the character, Dame Patricia Routledge, has delivered a blunt verdict on the role that made her a household name.

“She’s a monster, really,” Routledge admitted in the Channel 5 documentary Keeping Up Appearances: 30 Years of Laughs. It’s a description that may startle fans of the sitcom who tuned in each week between 1990 and 1995 to watch Hyacinth’s desperate, misguided crusade to ascend the social ladder. But for Routledge, the statement reflects a deep understanding of both the character’s complexity—and her comedy.

The Making of a Social-Climbing Monster

Created by sitcom master Roy Clarke and directed by Harold Snoad, Keeping Up Appearances was a sharp satire of class anxiety and aspirational delusion. At its core was Hyacinth: an indefatigable, overbearing woman determined to live a life of elegance—regardless of how inelegant her real world was.

“She had standards—too high for most people,” Routledge explained in the documentary. “But we all know that pretending to be something better than you are, and quite often slipping on the banana skin, makes for good comedy, if it’s well written.”

It was Routledge’s meticulous performance that transformed what could have been a one-note joke into a masterclass in character comedy. She imbued Hyacinth with iron will, manic energy, and—crucially—human vulnerability. Her constant attempts to impress upper-class neighbors while hiding her loud, working-class relatives were both hilarious and painfully relatable.

For her efforts, Routledge received two BAFTA nominations and a British Comedy Award. But while the accolades poured in and the ratings soared, the actress remained clear-eyed about the monster she had unleashed on the British public every Sunday evening.

Creative Sparks Behind the Scenes

The magic of Keeping Up Appearances came not just from Routledge’s performance, but from the creative tension that occasionally flared behind the scenes. “Harold Snoad knew exactly what he wanted and was thoroughly in charge,” Routledge recalled. “We sometimes disagreed with him, which made for an interesting explosion or two occasionally. That’s good for us all.”

While the show’s creators maintained a tight grip on the comedic tone, Routledge herself had significant influence over how Hyacinth evolved onscreen. She brought her classical theatre training to bear on sitcom scripts, frequently pushing for realism and truth in Hyacinth’s outrageous behavior.

That demand for quality would eventually become one of the reasons for her departure.

The Decision to Leave at the Peak

Though Keeping Up Appearances continued to thrive with high ratings and devoted fans into its fifth season, Routledge made the bold decision to walk away from the role. Her reasoning? Artistic integrity.

“I brought it to an end,” she stated bluntly in an interview with the BBC. “Which, of course, the BBC didn’t care for very much.”

She explained that she began to see the writing recycling familiar tropes. “I thought the writer was beginning to recycle old ideas,” she said. “And also, remembering the glorious Ronnie Barker, he always stopped when he was at the height of something. He always left with people saying, ‘Oh, aren’t you doing any more?’ rather than ‘Is that still on?’ That’s the place to be, really.”

And for Routledge, that place was not just behind Hyacinth’s white picket fence. “I had other adventures to explore. I’m an actress, and I wanted to take on the stories of other people.”

From the Bucket Household to Broader Horizons

Her departure from the sitcom didn’t spell the end of her career—far from it. She immediately took on a new and dramatically different role in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996–1998), where she played a no-nonsense, working-class woman turned amateur detective. The series was a hit, showcasing her versatility and grounding her firmly outside of Hyacinth’s shadow.

Following that, Routledge returned to the stage, taking on the formidable role of Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest from 1999 to 2001—a character no less socially intimidating than Hyacinth, but with Wildean wit instead of sitcom chaos.

Hyacinth’s Enduring Impact

Despite stepping away, Routledge has expressed continued gratitude for what Keeping Up Appearances brought her. “I’m immensely appreciative of the show and everything it did,” she shared in the 2023 documentary. Yet she remains astonished at how deeply the character embedded herself in the fabric of British culture.

Even three decades later, fans across the globe continue to revisit the series. “It’s extraordinary,” Routledge said during Patricia Routledge Remembers…, a BBC Four retrospective. “You wonder sometimes what it is that connects. But I suppose we all know a Hyacinth. Or maybe, we all fear becoming one.”

What first drew her to the part? It happened in the middle of the night, quite literally. “I had opened the script for a moment at one o’clock in the morning, read straight through, and Hyacinth leapt off the page,” Routledge recalled with a knowing smile. “I knew that woman. I knew several of that woman.”

The Monster We Can’t Help But Love

Hyacinth Bucket was, by Patricia Routledge’s own account, a “monster.” But she was also a mirror: a reflection of society’s preoccupation with appearances, our fear of embarrassment, and our desperate desire to belong somewhere a little higher up the ladder.

And in Routledge’s skilled hands, that monster became a legend.

Keeping Up Appearances may have ended in 1995, but its resonance—and the brilliance of Routledge’s performance—continues to echo through television history. In every over-enthusiastic bouquet arrangement, in every faux-French pronunciation, in every politely strained phone call, Hyacinth Bucket lives on.

And as long as people strive to be more than they are, she always will.

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