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Dame Patricia Routledge, who has died at the age of 96, made her mark on the national psyche as the pretentious Mrs. Bouquet.

Declaring it was "pronounced Bouquet," Hyacinth ran roughshod over her long-suffering husband and bewildered neighbours in Keeping Up Appearances, one of Britain's best-loved comedies in the 1990s.

Acting like a aristocrat while residing in a suburb, Hyacinth's over-the-top social-climbing plans were ultimately destined to failure—while she battled to keep her composure.

It was Dame Routledge's most famous part in a professional life that saw her win theatrical honors on each side of the Atlantic, become the lead of the playwright's celebrated TV soliloquies, and become BBC1's investigative Hetty Wainthropp.

Formative Years and Start in Acting

Katherine Pat Routledge was delivered in Merseyside on 17 February 1929.

Her father was a haberdasher and she later recalled taking cover from enemy air raids in the cellar of his store during the Second World War.

She studied English at local the University of Liverpool and planned to teach. Rather, she entered the Liverpool Playhouse before studying at the Bristol Old Vic.

Her successful stage journey brought her from the regions to the West End, and eventually to New York, where Leonard Bernstein chose her to appear in his musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 1976.

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

She could transition smoothly from lighthearted plays to serious drama.

She progressed from Stratford-upon-Avon, performing with the RSC and later to the National Theatre in the capital.

At the National, her lead role in the stage musical Carousel featured her performing the inspiring You'll Never Walk Alone.

She also took several minor movie parts, especially 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 performances proved her versatility and won her accolades, but it was the small screen that gave Routledge with her most high profile characters.

TV Breakthrough and Iconic Characters

Initial small-screen appearances featured popular shows like Z Cars and Steptoe and Son.

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

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

She went onto portray a isolated, mid-life shop clerk drawn into a relationship with a unconventional podiatrist in Bennett's Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet.

A comic turn as the larger-than-life character on The Victoria Wood Show resulted in the development of Mrs. Bucket.

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

"I had opened the pages for a while at 1 a.m. in the night," she recalled, "I went straight through and Hyacinth jumped off the page. I recognized that woman, I knew a few of that woman."

Keeping Up Appearances ran for five series and included four holiday specials.

In a documentary, she later claimed that admirers had included Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and the pontiff.

It turned into the broadcaster's most-sold programme of all time and meant Routledge was known as far away as Africa.

For her performance on the comedy, she was chosen the UK's all-time best-loved actor in 1996, but following half a decade in the part, she felt it was time for a new direction.

"I brought it to an close," she explained, "which, naturally, the BBC didn’t care for very much."

She believed that the writer was beginning to repeat ideas and mentioned a bit of guidance from the performer, the comic.

"He made sure to finish with people saying, ‘Oh, aren’t you doing any more?’ she said, instead of fans remarking, ‘Is that still on?’"

Subsequent Work and Personal Life

Portraying the homely but sharp detective in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates brought her ongoing success on television, but she consistently called the theatre as "the real challenge."

Years after she ceased appearing regularly on screen, Routledge made theatre tours both in the UK and overseas.

If journalists posed the predictable inquiry, she requested them to write the word withdrawal since, she explained: "It's not in my vocabulary."

She never married or had children, but told the press of two significant affairs in her youth, one with a wedded man.

"I experienced remorse and an acute sense that there would be loss," she confessed. "I guess I persuaded myself that it was all right for the moment as his marriage was no a vibrant thing."

Instead, she dedicated herself to her craft, honoring it with the skill, dedication and commitment that were always respected by her colleagues.

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

Challenging the Corporation's approach of resurrecting old comedies she said, "For what reason are they attempting this sort of thing, they must be out of ideas."

She had already clashed with the broadcaster over its move not to commission a documentary she had authored about the writer Beatrix Potter (Routledge was a supporter of the literary group), which eventually broadcast on Channel 4.

On turning 90, she persisted to live peacefully in the city, where she occupied herself raising funds for the church roof.

In 2017, she became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire but—unlike her character—honors did not go to her head.

Dame Routledge often said she thanked her north of England roots and stable family for giving her good sense with her time and her money.

Even so, she confessed that, if any additional cash come her way, she'd certainly use it on "several bottles of sparkling wine"—an appreciation of the better pleasures in existence that she shared with her most famous creation.

"I was never stage-struck," she said. "I'm not theatre-obsessed now. Nobody's as amazed than myself that I've, actually, spent my career pursuing this."