Hyacinth Bucket legend Patricia Routledge makes first public appearance in five years

Keeping Up Appearances' fan favourite actress Dame Patricia Routledge has made her first public appearance in five years.

She was honoured at a special service at London's Freemason Hall this week, where she collected an honorary doctorate award.

28 real life situations dealt by Hyacinth Bucket

As Kerry Howard prepares to take on the role of a young Hyacinth, we take a look at how Mrs Bucket's "executive" way of living could teach us all a thing or two, with 28 real life situations she could deal with perfectly.

Review - Patricia Routledge: Facing the Music

It's a shame that, with such a long and illustrious theatrical career (she is a member of the RSC), Patricia Routledge will forever be remembered for her comic creation [Hyacinth Bucket (pron. bouquet). Her sitcom Keeping Up Appearances dates from the early 1990s but continues to attract audiences in re-run heaven. Routledge is well known to dislike the small-minded snobbishness for which Hyacinth is famous - maybe that's partly what makes the character so funny and so loved.

Happy 86th, Patricia Routledge!

A profile of comic actress Patricia Routledge.

Patricia Routledge lends efforts to order of nuns

Ms. Routledge is now leading a £2.4m drive to build an abbey for an enclosed order of contemplative nuns and will front the campaign for The Community of Our Lady of Consolation - an order of nuns who, ironically, rarely watch television. The campaign will raise funds for the second phase of the development of Stanbrook Abbey, at Wass in North Yorkshire.

Patricia Routledge talks Hyacinth, KUA and comedy 101

As the great Patricia Routledge inches closer to her 83rd birthday on Friday, 17 February, I'm reminded of a point in time in the late 1990's that we had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interview Ms. Routledge for a salute to British comedy program for broadcast on public television in the States.

Patricia Routledge: 'There's a fashion to speak badly'

What has tempted Patricia Routledge back on to the stage?

With his hangdog expression and fruity Edinburgh burr Alastair Sim created numerous whimsical characters during a career on stage and screen that spanned more than 40 years - perhaps none more memorable than the creepily convincing Miss Fritton, headmistress in the St Trinian's films. This 1997 profile celebrates his achievements and speaks to his widow Naomi Plaskitt (Sim died in 1976), as well as hearing from friends, co-stars and admirers, including George Cole, Stephen Fry, Ian McKellen, Patricia Routledge and Nigel Hawthorne.