Keeping Up Appearances facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Keeping Up Appearances |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Roy Clarke |
| Written by | Roy Clarke |
| Directed by | Harold Snoad |
| Starring | Patricia Routledge Clive Swift Josephine Tewson Geoffrey Hughes Judy Cornwell Shirley Stelfox Mary Millar David Griffin |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 44 + 2 shorts (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Harold Snoad |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes 50 minutes (1994 Christmas special) 60 minutes (1993 Christmas special) |
| Production company(s) | BBC |
| Distributor | BBC Worldwide 2entertain Universal Pictures ABC (Australia, home video) Warner Home Video (US, home video) Iowa Public Television (US, television) |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Original release | 29 October 1990 – 25 December 1995 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Young Hyacinth |
Keeping Up Appearances is a funny British sitcom (a comedy show about everyday life) that was created and written by Roy Clarke. It was shown on BBC One in the UK from 1990 to 1995. The main character is a lady named Hyacinth Bucket (Patricia Routledge). She is a bit snobby and always tries to act like she's from a higher social class. She insists her last name, Bucket, should be said like “Bouquet” (like a bunch of flowers).
The show follows Hyacinth as she tries to impress everyone and show off her social skills. She really wants to be friends with people she thinks are "upper class." But her plans often go wrong because of her family, who she thinks are not fancy enough. She tries very hard to hide them! Most of the jokes come from the difference between how Hyacinth sees herself and how things really are. In every episode, she gets into a funny situation while trying to keep up her fancy image.
There were five series (seasons) of the show, with 44 episodes in total. Four of these were special Christmas episodes. The show stopped when Patricia Routledge, the main actress, decided to work on other projects. You can now watch all the episodes on DVD.
Keeping Up Appearances was very popular in the UK. It also became a big hit in many other countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, and several European nations. By 2016, it had been sold almost 1,000 times to TV channels around the world. This made it the most sold TV show from BBC Worldwide at the time! In the UK, it was voted 12th in a poll called "Britain's Best Sitcom" in 2004.
In September 2016, BBC One showed a special episode called Young Hyacinth. This was a 30-minute story that took place before the main show. In it, Kerry Howard played Hyacinth when she was 19 years old and working as a maid in the 1950s.
Meet the Characters
Hyacinth Bucket (Patricia Routledge) is the main character. She always says her name is pronounced Bouquet. She is a very bossy and snobby person who tries to climb the social ladder. She comes from a regular background, but her main goal is to impress everyone with her lifestyle and how rich and fancy she seems.
She is super worried that people will find out about her family and where she really comes from. So, she tries very hard to hide it. Hyacinth loves to visit big, fancy houses. She hopes to meet the rich owners and become friends with them, especially if they are from noble families. She also loves to host "executive-style" candlelit dinners. For these dinners, she uses her best china plates with hand-painted flowers.
Hyacinth loves to brag about all her things. She tries to speak in a very posh accent, but sometimes her old accent from Northern England slips out, especially when she gets upset. Her family, however, speaks with strong Northern accents.
Hyacinth's attempts to impress people often make life difficult for those around her. She often invites her neighbors and friends to her "exclusive candlelit suppers." Even though people usually try to find excuses not to come, Hyacinth never gives up trying to make them attend.
Her husband, Richard (Clive Swift), usually has to put up with the most trouble. He used to work for the local council (like a city government office). But at the start of the third series, he had to retire early, even though he didn't want to. He loves Hyacinth, but he gets very annoyed by her plans and her habit of buying expensive things they don't really need.
The outside scenes around Hyacinth's house were filmed at a real house in a village called Binley Woods in Warwickshire, England.
Books About the Show
Three books have been released that are connected to the Keeping Up Appearances TV series. Two of them were written by Jonathan Rice and published by BBC Books. The third book was written by Harold Snoad, who was the director of the show.
- Hyacinth Bucket's book of etiquette for the socially less fortunate
This book came out in 1993. It's a funny guide to good manners, written from Hyacinth Bucket's point of view. It uses parts of the TV show's scripts and has many black-and-white pictures from the series.
- Hyacinth Bucket's Hectic Social Calendar
Published in 1995, this book is like a diary of a year in Hyacinth Bucket's life. It includes her typical comments about her family and neighbors.
- It's Bouquet – Not Bucket
This book was published in 2009. It includes rare photos taken while Keeping Up Appearances was being filmed. The book also has summaries of all the episodes, details about the main actors, and stories about funny things that happened during filming.
Images for kids
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The cast in 1991. Standing from left to right: Jeremy Gittins, David Griffin, Judy Cornwell, Geoffrey Hughes, and Mary Millar. Seated from left to right: Clive Swift, Patricia Routledge and Josephine Tewson.
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The council houses where Daisy and Onslow lived.
See also
In Spanish: Keeping Up Appearances para niños
