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Dame Pat Routledge, who has died at the years of 96, imprinted herself on the British psyche as the pretentious Mrs. Bucket.

Insisting it was "pronounced Bouquet," the character trampled over her long-suffering husband and confused neighbours in Keeping Up Appearances, one of Britain's best-loved comedies in the 1990s.

Acting like a duchess while living in a suburban area, Hyacinth's over-the-top status-seeking schemes were ultimately doomed to failure—while she battled to keep her dignity.

It was Lady Routledge's best-known role in a career that included her earn theatrical honors on each side of the Atlantic, become the star of the playwright's celebrated TV monologues, and become BBC1's crime-busting Hetty Wainthropp.

Formative Life and Career Beginnings

Catherine Patricia Routledge was born in Birkenhead on February 17 1929.

Her dad was a haberdasher and she later recalled sheltering from enemy bombs in the cellar of his store during the war.

She majored in English at local the University of Liverpool and intended to become a teacher. Rather, she entered the local theatre before studying at the Bristol drama school.

Her prosperous acting journey took her from the regions to the London theatre district, and eventually to New York, where the composer chose her to star in his musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 1976.

She had previously received a Tony honor for her acting in Darling of the Day.

She could move effortlessly from comedies to serious drama.

She went from Stratford-upon-Avon, performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and later to the National Theatre in the capital.

At the National, her starring role in the theatre production Carousel featured her singing the inspiring You'll Never Walk Alone.

She also took various supporting movie parts, notably in the 1967 film To Sir, With Love, and the Jerry Lewis comedy outing Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River.

Her stage and radio performances proved her versatility and earned her awards, but it was television that gave Routledge with her most high profile roles.

Television Breakthrough and Memorable Roles

Early small-screen appearances featured popular programmes like Z Cars and Steptoe and Son.

And later, one of Britain's most respected writers, Alan Bennett, wrote a set of outstanding Talking Heads TV solos for her.

Routledge overcame her initial hesitation to act his material and excelled as A Woman of No Importance and A Lady of Letters.

She later portray a lonely, middle-aged department store assistant drawn into a relationship with a unconventional podiatrist in Bennett's Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet.

A humorous performance as the exaggerated character on The Victoria Wood Show led to the development of Hyacinth Bucket.

Routledge remembered being sent the episodes by the writer, Roy Clarke—known for Last of the Summer Wine and Open All Hours.

"I had opened the pages for a moment at 1 a.m. in the morning," she said, "I went straight through and the character jumped off the script. I knew that lady, I'd met several of that type."

Keeping Up Appearances ran for five seasons and included four Christmas specials.

In a film, she stated that fans had numbered the royal family and the pontiff.

It turned into the broadcaster's most-sold programme ever and ensured Routledge was recognised as distant as Botswana.

For her work on the sitcom, she was chosen the UK's all-time best-loved actor in 1996, but after five years in the role, she felt it was the moment for a new direction.

"I decided to end it to an close," she said, "and, of course, the BBC didn’t care for at all."

She thought that the writer was starting to recycle concepts and mentioned a piece of advice from the performer, the comic.

"He always left with audiences saying, ‘Oh, aren’t you doing any more?’ she said, rather than people remarking, ‘Is that still running?’"

Later Roles and Private Reflections

Portraying the homely but sharp sleuth in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates gave her ongoing success on television, but she always referred to the stage as "the test."

Long after she stopped appearing frequently on television, Routledge undertook stage travels equally in the United Kingdom and abroad.

If interviewers asked the predictable inquiry, she requested them to spell out the word withdrawal since, she explained: "It's not in my lexicon."

She did not married or raised children, but told interviewers of a couple of great romances in her younger days, one with a wedded man.

"I felt guilt and an acute sense that there would be pain," she confessed. "I guess I persuaded myself that it was acceptable for the time being as his union was not a vibrant thing."

Instead, she dedicated herself to her craft, honoring it with the talent, discipline and devotion that were always admired by her colleagues.

She was scathing about the broadcaster's decision in 2016 to bring back Keeping Up Appearances, but this time set in the 1950s and starring a younger incarnation of her role.

Questioning the network's policy of resurrecting classic sitcoms she remarked, "Why are they attempting this sort of thing, they have to be out of ideas."

She had already disagreed with the broadcaster over its decision to not commission a film she had written about the author the children's author (Routledge was a supporter of the literary group), which finally aired on another network.

Upon reaching 90, she continued to live peacefully in the city, where she occupied herself raising funds for the church roof.

In 2017, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the British honors system but—in contrast to Hyacinth—titles did not affect her mind.

Lady Patricia often stated she credited her Northern upbringing and stable family for providing her practicality with her life and her money.

Nonetheless, she confessed that, if any additional money arrive, she'd certainly spend it on "a case of champagne"—an love of the finer things in life that she had in common with her best-remembered character.

"I was never theatre-obsessed," she said. "I'm not theatre-obsessed now. Nobody's as amazed than I am that I've, in fact, devoted my career pursuing acting."