Keeping Up Appearances celeberates its 30th anniversary

I noted with interest that it was the 30th anniversary of the classic BBC sitcom Keeping up Appearances recently with many tributes from fan sites.
I imagine the celebrations brought a wry smile from Patricia Routledge who of course starred as super snob Hyacinth Bucket.
For Patricia it was a gift of a part. Not only did she relish the chance to create and develop one of the great comic characters in the history of British TV but it brought her formidable talents to the notice of millions.
However much as she loved and respected the programme she came to rather regret that, in the minds of the public, her fame as Hyacinth eclipsed many of her other achievements.
On stage she had spent decades wowing critics and theatre goers alike as a serious actor and singer appearing in everything from classical theatre to award-winning shows in the West End and Broadway.
On screen she had only recently received rave reviews for her role in Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads when, in October 1990, Keeping Up Appearances first appeared.
Viewers loved  the outrageous behaviour of lower middle-class Hyacinth as she gave full vent to her upper-class pretensions.
“It’s pronounced Bouquet” she would insist if anyone should dare to simply call her Mrs Bucket. With her downtrodden husband Richard played by Clive Swift, she was a wonderful exaggeration of a British stereotype known to all.
But despite it all Patricia, now in her nineties and ennobled with a Damehood, determined to let people know about her other talents.]
Which is undoubtedly why she has regularly appeared with Clive Conway Productions in recent years with a wonderful little show called Facing the Music.
The production finds her in conversation with critic and musical theatre expert Edward Seckerson looking back on her multi award winning career on the musical stage.