Keeping Up Appearances
| 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 David Griffin (series 2–5) Mary Millar (series 2–5) Shirley Stelfox (series 1) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 44 + 2 shorts (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Harold Snoad |
| Location(s) |
Binley Woods, Warwickshire, England; (Hyacinth's House) Stoke Aldermoor, Coventry, West Midlands, England; (Daisy and Onslows council house) Leamington Spa, England (Towns and various locations) Northampton, England; (Church Church Hall and Vicarage) Swindon, Wiltshire, England; Oxford,England; Bristol,England; Great Yarmouth Norfolk, England; Copenhagen, Denmark; (location scenes) |
| Camera setup | Single-camera (live screening) |
| Running time | 30 minutes 50 minutes (1994 Christmas special) 60 minutes (1993 Christmas special) |
| Distributor |
BBC Worldwide 2entertain Universal Pictures Iowa Public Television (US, television) Warner Home Video (US, home video) |
| Release | |
| Original network |
BBC1 (UK) PBS (US) YTV (Canada) |
| Picture format | 576i (4:3 SDTV) |
| Audio format | Mono (series 1), Stereo (series 2–5) |
| Original release | 29 October 1990 – 25 December 1995 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Young Hyacinth |
| Website | |
Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC, centred on the life of eccentric and snobbish middle class social climber Hyacinth Bucket, who insists that her surname is pronounced "Bouquet". The sitcom follows Hyacinth in her attempts to prove her social superiority and to gain standing with those she considers upper class; attempts that are constantly hampered by her decidedly lower class extended family whom she desperately seeks to hide. Much of the humour comes from the culture clash between Hyacinth's vision of herself and the reality of her working class background, plus the farcical situations she finds herself in as she battles to protect her social credibility.
The show spawned five series (seasons) and 44 episodes, four of which are Christmas specials. Keeping Up Appearances was a great success in the UK and also captured large audiences in the US, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands, but ceased production in 1995 when its star Patricia Routledge wanted to move on to other projects. Since its original release, all five series—including Christmas specials—have been available on DVD. It is regularly repeated worldwide (Public television stations including PBS member stations in the US; BBC One, Gold, and Drama in the UK and Ireland). It is also available for viewing on Netflix. In 2004, it came 12th in the poll for Britain's Best Sitcom.
In February 2016, it was confirmed by BBC Worldwide that Keeping Up Appearances is the corporation's most exported television programme, being sold nearly 1000 times to overseas broadcasters. A prequel titled Young Hyacinth, featuring Hyacinth as a 19-year-old maid in the 1950s, was made that year.
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