Keeping Up Appearances star Patricia Routledge looks unrecognisable after being seen for the first time in years after retiring from showbiz.
Keeping Up Appearances star Patricia Routledge, best known for playing the iconic Hyacinth Bucket, looks very different now.
She was seen with Queen Camilla earlier this year as she attended a royal event 29 years after the final episode of the beloved series, and looked remarkably well.
The 95-year-old actress was featured in a documentary special titled Keeping Up Appearances: 30 Years of Laughs, which was made to honour the BBC show’s 30th anniversary.
The special, which aired last year, saw Patricia reveal that the iconic comedy series had many famous fans, including the late Pope Benedict XVI.
Patricia shared: “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.”
Hyacinth, with her snobby ways, quickly became a favourite among viewers. She was especially known for insisting that her last name, Bucket, should be pronounced “Bouquet” to sound posher.
The Hyacinth Bucket actress has made a rare TV appearance. (Image: Getty)
Throughout the show’s 44 episodes, fans watched as Hyacinth tried all sorts of funny things to seem more upper-class in her neighbourhood.
After becoming a big hit in the UK, the show also found fans in the USA, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Ireland.
Keeping Up Appearances is the most exported BBC series ever, having been sold almost a thousand times to broadcasters around the world.
After the show finished, Patricia decided to retire from acting. Before she retired, she had a sparkling career.
She played an amateur detective in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and starred in the dramatic monologue BBC series Talking Heads by playwright Alan Bennett.
In 2017, Patricia was honoured for her services to entertainment and charity. Queen Elizabeth II awarded her a Damehood.
In 2022, she received another honour when she was given honorary membership for the Royal Academy of Music at a special service at London’s Freemason Hall.
In February of this year Patricia got another Royal seal of approval. She was seen at an event with Queen Camilla and other drama dames to celebrate 400 years of Shakespeare.
Another important character in the series was the Bucket’s nervous neighbour, Elizabeth Warden, played by actress Josephine Towson.
Besides her role in the show, Elizabeth was also known for playing Miss Davenport in the Yorkshire-based sitcom Last of the Summer Wine until she left in 2010.
Elizabeth later performed a one-woman show called Still Keeping Up Appearances, a nod to her earlier success. Sadly, she passed away in August 2022, aged 91.
