Dame Patricia Routledge, the actress best known for playing Hyacinth Bucket in BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances has died at the age of 96.
Born in 1929 in Tranmere, Routledge started acting while at the University of Liverpool where she wasd an active member of the dramatic society.
On graduating she trained Bristol Old Vic Theatre School before returned to Liverpool to start her professional career at the Liverpool Playhouse.
She went on to star in numerous plays in London’s West End and Broadway, winning a Tony Award for her role in Darling of the Day and an Olivier Award for Candide.
While her main passion was for theatre acting, she found fame on the small screen, first in Keeping Up Appearances, for which she was nominated for two BAFTAs, and then for Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.
She was made a dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 2017 for her services to entertainment and charity.
5. Patricia Routledge on...her upbringing
"It wasn't rich, it was hard-working, but I give thanks daily for the kind of upbringing I had, and for the values my parents brought to their own relationship and to their children. They wanted my brother and me to find out what we were best at and make the most of it." | Getty Images
6. Patricia Routledge on...turning 95
"I’ll be turning 95 this coming Monday. When I was younger, I often worried I wasn’t good enough—that I'd never be cast again, that I'd disappoint my mother. But these days begin in peace and end in gratitude." | Getty Images
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7. Patricia Routledge on...Hyacinth Bucket (again)
"The basic premise of Hyacinth is pretension and that's the source of so much comedy. While attempting to be a social climber, she also had to deal with members from the other side of her family like Onslow, who sat around in his string vest drinking beer. In a way, the show was a microcosm for society." | Getty Images
8. Patricia Routledge on...ambition
"I've only done what I've really wanted to burn up energy on. If you can't wake up in the morning and look forward to what you're going to do in the evening - and twice on a Wednesday and a Saturday - then it's not worth doing." | Getty Images