Patricia Routledge says ‘over my dead body’ in admission about Keeping Up Appearances role
Dame Patricia Routledge played Hyacinth Bucket in the beloved BBC sitcom, Keeping Up Appearances, for five years in the 1990s.
Dame Patricia Routledge has revealed one thing she refused to change her mind about while creating the beloved BBC sitcom, Keeping Up Appearances.
The series, which aired from 1990 until 1995, saw the actress, 95, portray snobby social climber Hyacinth Bucket.
It followed Hyacinth as she attempted to prove her social credibility among the upper classes. However, her attempts are hilariously hampered by her lower-class family, especially her sister Daisy (Judy Cornwall) and her husband Onslow (Geoffrey Hughes).
Two relatives Hyacinth is not ashamed of are her wealthy sister Violet (Anna Dawson) and her son Sheridan.
Throughout the five series, Sheridan is never seen and only communicates with Hyacinth via telephone.
While fans of the show may have hoped to see Sheridan on screen, Patricia was dead set that his appearance would remain a mystery.
Reflecting on her time on the show, Patricia said in a new interview: “Oh, I loved the phone calls from Sheridan! And also, particularly watching Richard’s reaction.
“You never see Sheridan. Over my dead body were you ever going to see Sheridan with his nice boyfriend called Tarquin who made the curtains for their little home,” she laughed.
She continued on BBC Four’s Dame Patricia Routledge Remembers...Keeping Up Appearances: “They were wonderful, wonderful touches. And everybody knows what Sheridan looks like.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Patricia revealed why she decided to leave the show after five series.
She explained: “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.”
Nevertheless, she says she is still “amazed at the enormity of its success” and the fact it is “still being shown throughout the world”.
Dame Patricia Routledge Remembers... Keeping Up Appearances is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
