Just weeks before the Keeping Up Appearances icon, sadly passed away in her sleep, surrounded by love, Dame Patricia Routledge made an extremely rare public appearance.
Dame Patricia Routledge made a public appearance in the weeks before her death. The legendary actress became a household name for her portrayal of Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom, Keeping Up Appearances. Patricia was beloved as the scheming Hyacinth who went to great lengths to shake off her ‘working-class’ roots.
After the final episode of the television series, which aired three decades ago, Dame Patricia returned to do television work, appearing in Hetty Wainthropp, appearing in Talking Heads 2, and starring in a number of documentaries. The Tranmere-born actress then resumed her first love, the stage, despite not having any television work on her plate.
She joined the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and later joined the University of Liverpool to pursue a degree in English Language and Literature, with her final acting debut seeing her play Lady Markby in 2014’s An Ideal Husband.
In her final years, Dame Patricia made a few public appearances, but her last one was just weeks before she passed away. Dame Patricia and her former co-star Dominic Monaghan joined them for dinner 27 years after the conclusion of Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.
While dining out with Dame Patricia, Dominic posted a picture of himself and Dame Patricia. “25 YEARS AGO!” he wrote next to his image. It’s so lovely to see Dame Patricia.
“We always shared a love of acting, of actors, of the natural world and all of the curiosities of life, it was fantastic to spend a couple of hours doing the same! She still tells fantastic stories, loves great food and wine, and as always is sharp as a tack, with fantastic skin and style.
She teaches me a lot, and she continues to do so while maintaining my exemplary class and quality as she ages. Hetty Wainthropinvestigates forever! #becurious”. Dame Patricia and chef and restaurateur Michael Newton-Young posed for photos several months prior to this at Chez Moi, his restaurant in Bognor Regis.
She was brilliant, lovely, and brilliant as a button. She is “clear as a tack,” Michael claimed in an interview with The Argus. A Dame Patricia spokesperson confirmed her death by saying, “We are deeply saddened by her passing, who peacefully passed away peacefully in her sleep this morning, surrounded by love.”
Dame Patricia’s enthusiasm for her work and her ability to connect with live audiences remained constant even at the age of 96, just as viewers have remained a part of her beloved television roles. She will be dearly missed by her devoted fans and close friends all over the world.
In addition to her roles in Darling Of The Day and the Old Lady in Leonard Bernstein’s opera Candide, Dame Patricia has received numerous awards over the past 60 years for her roles in these roles.
She was born on February 17, 1929, in Birkenhead, Merseyside, where her father, a wealthy gents’ outfitter, said “keeping up appearances” was the name of the game.
She made her professional debut at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1952 as Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream after graduating from Liverpool University and appearing in student shows there.
Two years later, she made her Broadway debut in London with the play How’s The World Treats You, which she co-starred in.
She rose to fame in Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV in the mid-1980s, before taking the role of Hyacinth in the BBC’s Keeping Up Appearances, and made her mark on television as well.
In 2017, she was honoured at Buckingham Palace as she was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire for her services to the theatre and charity.
