Actress Dame Patricia Routledge, best known for the TV show Keeping Up Appearances, has died aged 96.
The British star, who played the snobby character of Hyacinth Bucket in the beloved BBC comedy from 1990 to 1995, died “peacefully in her sleep,” her agent said.
"We are deeply saddened to confirm the passing of Dame Patricia Routledge, who died peacefully in her sleep this morning surrounded by love,” her team said in a statement.
"Even at 96-years old, Dame Patricia's passion for her work and for connecting with live audiences never waned, just as new generations of audiences have continued to find her through her beloved television roles.
"She will be dearly missed by those closest to her and by her devoted admirers around the world."
Routledge became a household name in Keeping Up Appearances, a role for which she won a British Comedy Award and earned BAFTA nominations.
The sitcom went on for five series and had four Christmas specials.
Routledge later claimed in a documentary that fans of the show had included Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and Pope Benedict XVI.
She criticised the BBC's decision in 2016 to bring back Keeping Up Appearances, this time set in the 1950s and featuring a younger version of her character.
“Why are they doing this sort of thing, they must be desperate,” she said at the time, per the BBC.
Routledge was born in Tranmere, Birkenhead, on 17 February 1929, and pursued a stage career after studying at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
She was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and had roles in West End shows like Little Mary Sunshine, Noises Off and The Importance of Being Earnest.
She won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Darling of the Day in 1968.
The talented star also nabbed an Olivier Award in 1988 for her role in Candide.
As for television, she appeared in a set of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads monologues, playing A Woman of No Importance and A Lady of Letters.
She also played a lonely department store worker who has a relationship with a kinky podiatrist in Bennett's Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet.
Routledge later played Lancashire housewife turned detective Hetty Wainthropp in the series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.
Routledge had several film credits under her belt too, including To Sir, with Love (1967) and Don’t Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (1968).
She was appointed OBE in 1993, then CBE in 2004.
The award-winning actress was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2017 for her services to drama and charitable causes.
She also held honorary degrees and was a patron of arts and literary organisations.
Routledge had no children and never married. She lived in Chichester in her later years.
