Patricia Routledge facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dame Patricia Routledge DBE
Routledge in 2023
Born	Katherine Patricia Routledge (1929-02-17) 17 February 1929 (age 96) Tranmere, Cheshire, England
Alma mater	University of Liverpool (BA) Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Occupation	Actress singer
Years active	1952–present

Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge (born 17 February 1929) is a famous English actress and singer. She is well-known for her funny role as Hyacinth Bucket in the popular BBC TV show Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995). For this role, she was nominated for a major TV award in 1992 and 1993.

Patricia Routledge first performed on stage in 1952 in Liverpool. She made her debut on Broadway in New York City in 1966. She won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1968 for her part in Darling of the Day. She also won an Olivier Award in 1988 for Candide. You might have seen her in films like To Sir, with Love (1967).

On television, Routledge became very popular in the 1980s. She starred in special monologues (one-person plays) written by Alan Bennett and Victoria Wood. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for her role in Bennett's Talking Heads: A Lady of Letters (1988). She also played Hetty Wainthropp in the British TV series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1990, 1996–1998). In 2017, Queen Elizabeth II made her a "Dame" for her amazing work in entertainment and for charity.

Early life and education

Patricia Routledge was born on 17 February 1929. Her birthplace was Tranmere in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. Her father owned a shop that sold fabrics and men's clothing.

She went to Birkenhead High School and then the University of Liverpool. There, she earned a degree with honors in English Language and Literature. She was very active in the university's drama club. A teacher there, Edmund Colledge, encouraged her to become an actress. After university, she trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She then started her acting career at the Liverpool Playhouse.

Acting career highlights

Theatre performances

Patricia Routledge has had a very long career in theatre. She has performed in many plays and musicals in the United Kingdom and the United States. Her singing voice is known as a mezzo-soprano or contralto.

She has been a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) for a long time. She appeared in famous plays like Richard III in 1984. Her London theatre roles include Little Mary Sunshine and Noises Off. She was nominated for an Olivier Award for her role in And a Nightingale Sang in 1979.

Routledge also performed in operas. She played the main role in La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein in 1978. Critics praised her for bringing wit and emotion to the role.

She first performed on Broadway in New York in 1966. In 1968, she won a Tony Award for her role in the musical Darling of the Day. She shared this award with Leslie Uggams. She also played Queen Victoria in a musical called Love Match. In 1976, she played every U.S. First Lady in the musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

In 1980, Routledge played Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance in New York's Central Park. This show was a big success and moved to Broadway. A DVD of this performance was released in 2002.

In 1988, she won an Olivier Award for her role as the Old Lady in Candide. One critic said her performance was "hilarious and oddly moving." She also played Nettie Fowler in Carousel in 1992. More recently, she has toured with a show called Facing The Music. This show shares stories from her musical theatre career.

Film and television roles

Patricia Routledge has appeared in several films. These include To Sir, with Love (1967) and Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (1968).

Her early TV appearances include Steptoe and Son (1974) and Coronation Street (1961). She also played Mrs. Jennings in the BBC mini-series Sense and Sensibility (1971).

She became widely known on TV in the 1980s. This was thanks to monologues written by Alan Bennett and Victoria Wood. She appeared in Bennett's A Woman of No Importance in 1982. She then played Kitty in Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV in 1985. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for her monologue "A Lady of Letters" in 1988.

In 1990, Routledge took on the main role of Hetty Wainthropp. This was for an ITV mystery drama called Hetty Wainthropp: Missing Persons. The BBC later made a full series, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, starting in 1996. The show ran until 1998. Dominic Monaghan, who played her assistant, later became a Hollywood actor. He said Routledge was "an amazing teacher" who taught him valuable acting lessons.

In 1990, Routledge was cast as Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances. Her character was a woman from a working-class background who pretended to be very posh. She insisted her last name "Bucket" should be pronounced "bouquet." Routledge enjoyed playing Hyacinth, even though she said she "couldn't stand people like her" in real life. She won a British Comedy Award in 1991 for this role. She was also nominated for two BAFTA TV Awards.

Routledge decided to leave Keeping Up Appearances in 1995. This was despite the show being very popular. She wanted to try other acting roles. She explained that she preferred to leave when the show was still doing well. She also felt the writer was repeating some old ideas.

She has also played real people on television. These include author Barbara Pym and Hildegard of Bingen, a famous medieval figure. In 2001, Routledge starred in Anybody's Nightmare, a drama based on a true story. She played Sheila Bowler, a woman who was wrongly imprisoned but later found innocent.

In 2016, Routledge presented Beatrix Potter with Patricia Routledge on Channel 4. This celebrated the 150th birthday of the author Beatrix Potter. In 2023, she appeared in a special TV show about Keeping Up Appearances. She shared her memories of the show at 93 years old.

Radio and audio books

Patricia Routledge has also had a busy career in radio. In 1966, she sang in several BBC Radio recordings of Gilbert and Sullivan operas. She was also featured in a BBC Radio 3 series called Stage and Screen in 2006.

She has appeared in many Alan Bennett radio plays. She also starred in the BBC radio show Ladies of Letters. In this show, she and Prunella Scales played two retired women who exchange funny letters.

Routledge has a very clear and special voice. She has recorded many audiobooks. These include full readings of Wuthering Heights and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She also recorded shorter versions of the Hetty Wainthropp books.

Personal life and charity work

Patricia Routledge has never married and does not have children. She once said that her acting career was so important to her that life just turned out that way.

She has lived in Chichester since 2000. She often attends services at Chichester Cathedral. In 2020, she helped raise £10,000 to help repair the cathedral roof.

Routledge supports the Beatrix Potter Society. She is also an ambassador for the charity Royal Voluntary Service. She was a close friend of Betty Boothroyd, a former Speaker of the House of Commons.

Awards and recognition

Patricia Routledge has received many honors for her work. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1993. She became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2004. In 2017, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). This is a very high honor, given for her services to theatre and charity.

She has also received honorary degrees from several universities. These include Lancaster University in 2008 and the University of Chester in 2019. In 2022, the Royal Academy of Music made her an honorary member.

Routledge is an honorary president of the Association of English Singers & Speakers. She also supports an annual singing competition for English songs. She will receive the Freedom of the Borough of Wirral in 2025.

Screen and stage work details

Film appearances

Television appearances

Stage performances

Discography

Cast recordings

Studio albums

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Patricia Routledge para niños