Hyacinth Bucket

This page is a list of main characters for the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, which ran from 1990 to 1995.

The show's protagonist is the social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket (who insists that her surname is pronounced 'Bouquet' with the accent on the second syllable). Hyacinth's primary aims in life are to impress people, particularly of the upper and upper-middle classes, and to give the impression that she is of high social standing, despite her fairly average status. In an attempt to make callers think she is well-off enough to employ domestic staff, she repeatedly (and famously) answers her beloved pearl-white slim line telephone with automatic redial facility with, "The Bouquet residence; the lady of the house speaking." Those around her despise her snobbery, but she is a genuinely kind-hearted and loving person. Hyacinth tries to avoid her poorer or oddly-behaving relatives (Daisy, Onslow, Rose, Daddy and Bruce) and to hide the fact that she was born into the working-class, while boasting about her richer relative (Violet), in order to maintain her vaunted social status. She loves her family dearly (especially in the times of the year it gets dark early) and will rush to their aid in times of need. If people were to find out about her working class origins, she would immediately revert from pretentious middle-class woman putting on airs and graces to working-class social climber, since in English society no one can fully escape the social class one is born into. This facet of the show is often missed by persons not familiar with the intricacies of English hierarchical society.

She frequently refers to or makes preparations for her candlelight suppers, attendance of which almost seem mandatory, but we never actually see one in progress.

Hyacinth is the eldest of four sisters: in birth order, herself, Daisy, Violet and Rose.

Hyacinth's long-suffering husband who is at her beck and call. Richard is a calm, tolerant and relaxed character who cares little for enhancing or preserving social status, and he seems content with his lower-middle class standing. He pronounces his last name, Bucket, as the English word, and snaps to Hyacinth in one episode, "It's not "Bouquet", it's Bucket! It was always Bucket until I met you".

Hyacinth believes that Richard's favourite hobby is gardening and repeatedly forces him to go into the garden to work on it, even though he makes it quite clear that he does not enjoy it. The main reason she nags Richard into constantly doing the gardening is to try to make people believe Richard could afford a gardener, but chooses not to as he enjoys gardening himself.

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