Keeping Up Appearances star Dame Patricia Routledge reportedly refused to film scenes in the iconic sitcom after taking issue with the script.
Patrictia Routledge and Clive Swift as Hyacinth and Richard in Keeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances star Patricia Routledge allegedly refused to film certain scenes written for the BBC sitcom. Patricia, who portrayed leading lady Hyacinth Bucket, is understood to have taken issue with a number of scenes after deeming them too unbelievable.
As a result, writers Roy Clarke and Harold Snoad had to rewrite many of the episodes throughout the series’ run from 1990 until 1995.
According to reports, there was contention behind the scenes between Clarke and Snoad as the latter rewrote “large chunks” of the script without Clarke’s knowledge.
Roy Clarke’s scripts were said to be often impractical and Snoad rewrote them when he felt that elements didn’t work.
Clarke, who also wrote Last of the Summer Wine and Open All Hours, was less than pleased with the changes and Snoad admitted to the Guardian: “At times, we weren’t the best of mates.”
Patricia Routledge quit Keeping up Appearances in 1995. (Image: Getty)
Clarke added: “I watched on occasions and found scenes I hadn’t written and that’s, of course, death to a writer.”
Patricia, 95, has been open about the issues she took with the script and said it played a part in her decision to quit.
She told BBC Four last year: “Well, I brought it to an end, which, of course, the BBC didn’t care for very much.
“I thought the writer was beginning to recycle old ideas. And also, remembering the glorious Ronnie Barker, he always stopped when he was at the height of something and he always left with people saying, ‘Oh, aren’t you doing any more?’ Rather than people saying, ‘Is that still on?’
“That’s the place to be, really, and I had other adventures to explore. I’m an actress, and I wanted to take on the stories of other people.”
Following the end of Keeping Up Appearances, Patricia had other high-profile roles including as Hetty Wainthropp in BBC’s Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996-1998). She also returned to the stage with a two-year run as Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (1999-2001).
In 2023, Patricia revealed that the iconic comedy series had many famous fans, including the Queen Mother and Pope Benedict XVI.
She shared in a documentary special titled Keeping Up Appearances: 30 Years of Laughs: “We were one of the Queen Mother’s favourite sitcoms, which was lovely, and the Queen enjoyed it, too. Hyacinth would have been flattered beyond words, and why not.”
