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Lady Patricia Routledge, who has died at the years of 96, made her mark on the national consciousness as the pretentious Hyacinth Bucket.

Declaring it was "pronounced Bouquet," the character ran roughshod over her patient husband and confused neighbours in the popular sitcom, among Britain's best-loved comedies in the 1990s.

Behaving like a aristocrat while living in a suburb, Hyacinth's over-the-top social-climbing plans were ultimately destined to failure—while she struggled to keep her dignity.

It was Lady Patricia's best-known role in a professional life that saw her win theatrical honors on each side of the ocean, become the star of Alan Bennett's celebrated TV soliloquies, and star as BBC1's crime-busting Mrs. Wainthropp.

Formative Life and Start in Acting

Katherine Pat Routledge was born in Birkenhead on February 17 1929.

Her dad was a clothier and she later recalled taking cover from enemy air raids in the basement of his store throughout the war.

She majored in English at nearby the University of Liverpool and intended to become a teacher. Rather, she joined the Liverpool Playhouse before training at the Bristol Old Vic.

Her successful acting career took her from the provinces to the London theatre district, and finally to New York, where Leonard Bernstein chose her to star in his musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 1976.

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

She could move effortlessly from comedies to serious drama.

She progressed from Shakespeare's birthplace, appearing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and then to the National Theatre in the capital.

There, her lead part in the theatre production Carousel featured her singing the inspiring You'll Never Walk Alone.

She also took several minor film roles, notably in the 1967 film To Sir, With Love, and the Jerry Lewis funny film Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River.

Her stage and radio work proved her range and won her accolades, but it was the small screen that provided Routledge with her most high profile roles.

TV Success and Iconic Characters

Early small-screen appearances included well-liked shows like Z Cars and Steptoe and Son.

Subsequently, one of Britain's most respected writers, Alan Bennett, penned a series of outstanding Talking Heads TV monologues for her.

Routledge overcame her initial reluctance to perform his material and shone as A Woman of No Importance and A Lady of Letters.

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

A humorous performance as the larger-than-life character on The Victoria Wood Show led to the creation of Hyacinth Bouquet.

Routledge remembered being sent the scripts by the author, the screenwriter—who had also done Last of the Summer Wine and Open All Hours.

"I had opened the script for a while at 1 a.m. in the night," she recalled, "I read straight through and the character jumped off the script. I knew that lady, I'd met a few of that woman."

Keeping Up Appearances ran for five series and featured several holiday specials.

In a documentary, she stated that fans had numbered Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and Pope Benedict XVI.

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

For her work on the comedy, she was chosen Britain's all-time favourite actor in 1996, but after half a decade in the role, she felt it was the moment for a change.

"I decided to end it to an end," she explained, "which, of course, the broadcaster didn’t care for very much."

She believed that the writer was beginning to repeat ideas and recalled a piece of guidance from the performer, Ronnie Barker.

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

Subsequent Roles and Personal Reflections

Portraying the homely but astute sleuth in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates brought her ongoing popularity on TV, but she consistently referred to the theatre as "the real challenge."

Years after she stopped acting regularly on television, Routledge made stage travels equally in the UK and abroad.

Whenever journalists posed the predictable question, she asked them to write the word retirement since, she explained: "It's not in my lexicon."

She never married or raised children, but informed the press of two great romances in her youth, including one with a married man.

"I felt guilt and an acute sense that there had to be pain," she confessed. "I suppose I persuaded myself that it was all right for the time being because his union was not a vibrant thing."

Instead, she devoted herself to her art, serving it with the talent, dedication and devotion that were always respected by her peers.

She was critical about the BBC's decision in 2016 to revive Keeping Up Appearances, but on this occasion set in the 1950s and starring a younger version of her role.

Challenging the Corporation's approach of resurrecting old comedies she remarked, "For what reason are they doing this kind of thing, they must be desperate."

She had previously disagreed with the broadcaster over its decision to not order a documentary she had authored about the author Beatrix Potter (Routledge was a Patron of the literary group), which eventually broadcast on Channel 4.

Upon reaching 90, she persisted to reside quietly in Chichester, where she occupied herself raising money for the church structure.

In 2017, she became a Dame of the British honors system but—unlike Hyacinth—titles never affect her head.

Lady Patricia always said she credited her north of England upbringing and stable background for providing her practicality with her time and her finances.

Even so, she admitted that, should any additional money come her way, she'd certainly spend it on "a case of sparkling wine"—an appreciation of the better things in existence that she had in common with her most famous creation.

"I never was theatre-obsessed," she declared. "I am not theatre-obsessed now. Nobody's as amazed than I am that I've, actually, devoted my life doing acting."