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{{DISPLAYTITLE:List of ''Keeping Up Appearances'' characters}} |
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#REDIRECT ] |
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{{Use British English|date=April 2018}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}} |
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This page is a '''list of characters''' for the ] ] ''''']''''', which was shown on ] from 1990 to 1995. |
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{{R to related topic}} |
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}} |
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==Hyacinth and her family== |
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===Hyacinth Bucket=== |
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The show's protagonist, played by ], is the ] ] Hyacinth Bucket (née Walton) (b. 4 December 1930),<ref>In ''Young Hyancinth'' set in the 1950s, Hyacinth is 19. Depending on the exact year of the show, Hyacinth is born between 1930 (to be 19 on the first day of 1950) and 1940 (to be 19 in exactly 1959.) The Walton name was also introduced in ''Young Hyacinth'', as it is never mentioned in the series.</ref> who insists that her surname is pronounced "Bouquet", like a bunch of ]. 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. |
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Hyacinth and Richard live at number 22 Blossom Avenue, in a ] which Hyacinth refers to as "The Residence" when sending letters. She describes herself as a "local ]" and believes she is held in high and enviable esteem by the community for her ] suppers, ] work and her involvement in the local ]. In an attempt to make callers think she is well-off enough to employ ], she repeatedly (and famously) answers her beloved pearl-white slim line ] with automatic redial facility with, "The Bouquet residence; the lady of the house speaking." While on the phone, she is prone to making impossible requests of people, such as a ] for a ] and does not understand why they cannot be met. |
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Those around her despise her snobbery, her constant meddling, her outlandish plans and her refusal to listen to others. Hyacinth seems completely oblivious to everyone's terror of her and wants to believe the best of most people, that they are either enamoured with her and too shy to say so or that they are trying to be considerate to her by not bothering her. However, she cannot abide anyone one-upping her when it comes to social events or showing the same snobbery she herself shows. She has a penchant for finding the most disagreeable people to try to impress, while at the same time shunning agreeable people who are of lower social standing, but never seems to learn from her mistakes. |
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Hyacinth goes to great lengths to avoid her poorer or oddly-behaving relatives (Daisy, Onslow, Rose, Bruce and, to an extent, Daddy) in public, while boasting about her richer sister (Violet, who has "a ], ], and room for a ]") in order to maintain her vaunted social status. However, she loves her family, especially her father, and will rush to their aid in times of need. She rarely acknowledges the fact, however, that her family treat her more kindly than most characters on the series whom she is trying to impress, being equally willing to come to her aid in an emergency as she is for them. |
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Another of Hyacinth's other quirks is that she frequently refers to or makes preparations for her candlelight suppers, attendance at which almost seems mandatory, but we never actually see one in progress. She also plans other extravagant functions such as fancy ]s and ], which usually end in disaster. She is an excellent housekeeper, keeping the house immaculately clean and setting absolutely beautiful tables for dinners and functions. She is very proud of her various ] and ], especially her ] ] with the hand-painted ]. She can play ], and often attempts to sing for (or at) people. While she has a rich, strong voice, she tends to force it too hard and loudly, making her singing unpleasant to listen to. She often plots and schemes to make herself or Richard look higher-class than they are, and has a tendency to embellish upon stories of her and Richard's exploits to make them sound better than they really were, to impress other people. She does the same with stories of her son Sheridan, whom she adores even though he only wants her money. She also has a great aversion to dogs and indeed most animals, which is reciprocated by the animals themselves. |
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As revealed in the special ''Young Hyacinth'', Hyacinth is the eldest of the four floral-named Walton sisters: in birth order, ], ], ] and ]. In this one-off special, her younger self is played by ]. |
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===Richard Bucket=== |
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Played by ], Richard Bucket is 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 middle class standing. He is usually laid back but has two great fears; ], and Hyacinth spending too much money on things. He pronounces his last name, ], 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." |
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Richard Bucket married Hyacinth Walton (as she was back then) on 9 February 1963 and moved into 22 Blossom Avenue at a later date. Although the house is in his name, he does not have a ] for it: Hyacinth has the only key. Until series three, he works as a ], a deputy in the ]'s Department of ] and General Purposes. He dreads the idea of ], as it would mean being with Hyacinth all day, every day for the rest of his life, but is forced into early retirement despite begging and pleading with his boss. After his early retirement, Hyacinth attempts to get Richard back into the workforce in a "senior executive position" in several jobs, but the attempts never succeed. In "The Senior Citizens' Outing", he is seen reading a ] titled ''Can You Afford to Retire?'', suggesting he too is still eager to get back into the workforce. |
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A few times, Richard has stood up to Hyacinth in public because of her unreasonable behaviour, driving her into shock, but he is usually meek and mild in front of other people. He is not afraid to disagree with Hyacinth in private, however, and does so frequently, though she never listens and he always winds up capitulating to her whims. These usually involve contrived plots to impress neighbours or ], or a far-fetched plan to avoid Hyacinth's down-market family, whom he actually prefers to the upper-class people Hyacinth is determined to mingle with. Whenever anyone asks how he manages to cope with Hyacinth, he often compares his marriage to being in the ]: every day is routinely planned out for him, and he never has to make any decisions. He also points out that Hyacinth is extremely kind and caters to his every need. However, in "Please Mind Your Head", it is revealed that they are no longer intimate, as Hyacinth disapproves of it at their age, and in other episodes Richard indicates that Hyacinth lost interest in him once their son Sheridan was born. |
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Richard and Hyacinth own a blue 1986 ], which Richard is often forced to polish, sometimes multiple times a day. He drives the car because Hyacinth has not learned to drive, but claims he only steers while Hyacinth drives by "word of mouth". A ] of the series is that, besides directing every turn he makes, Hyacinth incessantly tells him to watch out for various people, animals, or objects that are on the side of the road or on the ], as if they might suddenly leap out and block Richard's path. An exasperated Richard usually responds with "Minding the..." whatever it is, in a silly voice, which irritates Hyacinth. |
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Richard is an avid reader, and is often shown with a book in hand - he mentions to the vicar in "Let There Be Light" that he uses reading as an escape from Hyacinth, often reading in the ] to avoid interruption. However, while Richard protests otherwise, Hyacinth insists Richard's favourite hobby is ], and forces him to work in the ] and look happy while doing so, hoping neighbours will think they could afford a ] but don't have one because Richard likes doing it himself. Hyacinth twice tries to get him started in ], also to impress wealthy people, but Richard is no good at it. In "Richard's New Hobby", Hyacinth also tried to get him started in amateur ], but an unfortunate mishap involving the ] put that to an end quickly. As shown in several episodes, Richard sings, and is actually a bit better at it than Hyacinth is, but he usually does not make a habit of singing unless asked to by someone else. In "The ] Suit", it was revealed he also knows how to play piano (Richard plays while he and Emmet drunkenly sing "]"). In "How to Go on Holiday Without Really Trying", Richard is shown to be excellent at ], when Onslow "kidnaps" him and takes him to a local ]. |
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], writer of the show, described Richard as a foil to show Hyacinth's character to worst advantage. Although various characters in the series often express bemusement as to Richard's tolerance for Hyacinth, the cast and crew observe that he simply loves her and that his sense of humour helps get him through. |
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===Daisy=== |
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Daisy (played by ]) is the second-born of the Walton sisters. A happy, lively character, Daisy lives with her slobbish husband Onslow, her man-crazy sister Rose and their ] father. Her married surname is never given. Daisy, Onslow and Rose are the lower-class relatives Hyacinth is ashamed of. It is repeatedly mentioned that Daisy and Onslow were once very wild and passionate lovers, but Onslow has considerably cooled down with age. Daisy is constantly trying to get her husband to show passion towards her; however, she often fails to rouse any signs of affection from him save the odd compliment, and, as a result, buries herself in ] ]. |
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Her other attempts to get Onslow's attention include giving herself a makeover to attract the attention of other men, and getting herself a seventeen-year-old, ]-riding toy boy; however, Onslow was sensible enough to not fall for either of these. Much to Onslow's disbelief, Daisy repeatedly insists he is a "menace to the female sex" and is terrified of the thought of him possibly having another woman, or of other women (even Hyacinth) coming after him. In "A Celebrity for the Barbecue", she even likens him to ] in '']''. It is sometimes hinted that these claims are just attempts to rouse Onslow, however. |
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Daisy, like her husband, enjoys life in the slow lane; she spends most of her time sitting on the ] eating, reading romance novels borrowed from the ], or watching ]. Daisy is full of life and always smiling, despite picking up her husband's bad habits of sleeping until noon, eating junk food, drinking ] and watching television all day. She and Onslow are actually fairly well-educated, and often have philosophical discussions, but these never last long because she usually tries to turn the conversation to love fairly quickly. |
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Daisy tries to rein in Rose's dramatics, but her own flighty nature often gets in the way of these endeavours. She also has trouble keeping an eye on Daddy, and frequently has to ask Hyacinth for help when he goes off on one of his exploits, or does something outlandish at home. She makes half-hearted efforts to look nice around Hyacinth and tries to get Onslow to do the same, but usually fails. She also tries to rescue the Vicar and Emmett from Rose when she can. |
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Daisy and Onslow have a daughter called Stephanie, who appeares only in the final episode of series one, along with her own daughter Kylie and two lovers. In "Let There Be Light", Daisy reveals she was once a ] supporter, but changed loyalties because of Onslow's intense hatred for the team. A kindly soul at heart, Daisy does try to help Hyacinth when the latter reluctantly has to ask for help on occasion, but is rarely ever acknowledged or thanked. Like Onslow, although Hyacinth is ashamed of her, she gets along well with every other character she meets during the series thanks to her cheerful nature. |
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In the one-off special ''Young Hyacinth'', Daisy's younger self is played by Katherine Pearce. |
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===Onslow=== |
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Onslow's surname is never given. He is played by ], is Hyacinth's brother-in-law, and is a ], beer-guzzling, unemployed and ] slob intensely despised by Hyacinth. Onslow threatens his sister-in-law's social prestige with his scruffy clothes and common, coarse ways. Onslow is proudly "workshy, bone idle and out of condition", and rarely gets up before lunch or dinner time. In multiple episodes, it is implied he was a bit wild in his youth, and it is suggested he may even have served time in ]<ref>Onslow references being reminded of "hard labour" in the episode ''Problems with Relatives''</ref>, but he has considerably mellowed with age and is a gentle soul under his rough exterior. |
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He watches television all day every day, eating and drinking constantly and rarely moving from his ] save to go to the ] on occasion. He calls himself "the breadwinner", but his only income comes from ] on ]s and ]. Nevertheless, Onslow's intellectual reading, and viewing of ] programmes, have made him knowledgeable on a wide variety of subjects. He is also a fan of an unnamed ], though he is known to dislike ] – so much so that he felt ready to ] Daisy when she revealed on their honeymoon that she supported Liverpool. Very occasionally, he goes to the local ] to play ] or ], once challenging Richard to play billiards and discovering Richard was actually better at it than he was. He also loves to eat, his favourite snack being Smoky ] ]. He owns both a ] and a 1978 ], which is falling apart and tends to ] and belch dark clouds of ]. |
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Onslow owns a mixed-breed dog, which lives outside in the rusting carcass of a ] in the front garden. However, he indicates that this is the dog's preference and not neglect on his part, and in several episodes it is shown he does care deeply for the dog and treats her well. He is an inattentive husband to Daisy, in that he never takes her out, nor has he ever bought her any ] or clothing. However, he does compliment her on occasion, and the two seem fond of each other despite their issues. His sex drive has slackened off considerably since his youth, and Daisy's frequent efforts to arouse him are often in vain. |
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Despite Hyacinth's utter contempt of him and her belief that he cannot succeed at anything, in the ] special "Sea Fever", Onslow managed to win a ] competition, which earned him and Daisy a first-class vacation on the ]. Hyacinth and Richard were also on board in a cheaper cabin at the time, and, while at first intensely jealous, Hyacinth swallowed her pride and kindly wished Onslow congratulations and danced with him in the ship's ]. Also, despite Hyacinth's usual mistreatment of him, Onslow is willing to help Hyacinth when she needs help (though often she would rather it was someone else than him) and even rescued her ] in the episode of the same name when the van carrying it crashed. He also admitted in "Riverside Picnic" that he admired Hyacinth's stiff upper lip when things went wrong. |
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Hyacinth detests Onslow; however, he has no mean spirit and gets on well with almost everyone else, including his own ], Hyacinth's vicar, Emmett, Elizabeth, Bruce and Violet. He is exasperated by Rose and Daddy on occasion, and thinks Daisy should not take their dramatics so seriously. Onslow is also good friends with Richard, nicknaming him "Dickie" much to Hyacinth's outrage (though Richard himself does not mind), and often tries to persuade him not to let Hyacinth browbeat him all the time. |
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Onslow is - when he can overcome his inherent sloth - a very loving and kindly character, despite his appearance suggesting otherwise. He is Roy Clarke's favourite character in the show, as stated in the ] series. |
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===Rose=== |
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Hyacinth's youngest, lustful sister, Rose has an eye for men and a taste for ] and flashy, provocative outfits. In the episode "Early Retirement", she reveals she was once married, though it is not stated whether she is ] or divorced. Her surname is also never given, though her maiden name is Walton like all the other sisters. She was played by ] in series one and ] (whose performance was more over-the-top than Stelfox's) in every episode after that. She is another family member who threatens Hyacinth's social prestige, especially as the Vicar and Emmett are two of the men she sometimes chases. She even sometimes cosies up to Richard, though Hyacinth always puts a quick stop to that. |
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Rose is promiscuous, unstable, and prone to fits of ] and ], some of which are genuine but most of which are merely attention-seeking tactics. However, Richard describes her as a gentle soul who is just a bit 'mixed up'. She is constantly having affairs with men, but her choice in men is poor and she often finds herself with married or otherwise unsuitable men who abandon her after a brief fling. Onslow has said more than once that her ] never get a chance to settle, which explains her outrageous behaviour. She has a penchant for stealing Onslow's ], and for going into long tirades about men and their unfaithfulness. She regularly becomes 'disillusioned' and decides to 'give up men', sometimes several times in a week, but always has a new ] in record time. She is shown to be relatively uneducated, never reads, often speaks childishly, and cannot spell simple words. |
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Hyacinth is particularly ashamed of Rose, and at times goes to great lengths to keep her existence and their relationship a secret. But she does care for her, all the same. In the episode "] Shop", she stands and listens patiently as Rose confides to her about her dysfunctional love life. Hyacinth cheers her up and then kisses her on the cheek before sending her home. In "] Remains", when Rose has locked herself in a room in one of her depressive fits, Hyacinth panics that Rose may have harmed herself, especially when there is no answer at the door (in fact, Rose just had stereo ] on and couldn't hear the people outside). She sends Richard up a ] to investigate, but he falls off. Hyacinth also tries to stop a fight between Rose and one of her lovers in "A ] for Daddy", thinking he is a reputable member of society, though she changes her mind and tells the man to stop bothering Rose when she realises she had mistaken his identity and that he was indeed another of Rose's bad choices in men. |
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===Violet and Bruce=== |
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Violet (played by ]) is the third-eldest of the Walton sisters, who married a successful but eccentric ] named Bruce (played by )<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/John_Evitts|title=John Evitts - Misplaced Pages|website=nl.m.wikipedia.org|access-date=2019-03-13}}</ref>. A sign outside their house reads "The Paddocks", but it is not revealed if this refers to their surname or is the name of their property. Violet and Bruce were initially ], apart from the occasional glimpse from a distance, but in the fifth series, both Bruce and Violet became regulars on the show. |
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Bruce and Violet are extremely wealthy. Hyacinth often brags that Violet and Bruce have a ], ], ], ], ], musical ], and room for a ]. They also have a ] in the ], and a ] in ]. However, Violet has a troubled marriage with her eccentric, ] husband, and repeatedly phones Hyacinth to complain about Bruce's mad behaviour. Bruce often confiscates Violet's clothes in order to wear them himself, leaving her with his clothes. He also has had an affair with his ], and has done other unsuitable things such as refusing to come down out of a tree, ], ], throwing childish tantrums over trivial things, and buying lots of nude artwork. In "The Toy Store", Richard remarks that Bruce is supposed to be on some sort of medication but it's implied he often does not take it. However, despite everything, Hyacinth insists that Violet put up with Bruce for the luxurious lifestyle his wealth gives her, particularly the Mercedes. |
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While Violet is obviously far more affluent than Hyacinth, she is not the snob Hyacinth is. She is far more accepting of Daisy, Onslow and Rose than Hyacinth, in that she is not embarrassed by them. In "Riverside Picnic", when told by Hyacinth to find a friend "in the same income bracket" to drive her, Violet calls Onslow and invites her father and sisters to ] Hyacinth's "waterside supper with riparian entertainments". |
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Although continually bragging about Violet to her friends, Hyacinth cannot use Violet and Bruce to her full advantage, as she often cannot introduce them to friends and neighbours due to their volatile marriage and Bruce's costumes. On the odd occasion, Hyacinth has invited Violet to her candlelight suppers (which Violet does not enjoy any more than anyone else), and it is implied the main reason Hyacinth invites Violet and Bruce around is because she likes to have their ] in her driveway. |
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In the episode "A Barbecue at Violet's", when Hyacinth and Richard arrive at Violet's home, they arrive in the middle of a vicious domestic row, in which Violet and Bruce are arguing loudly and hurling objects at each other. By "Skis", Violet eventually wants to divorce Bruce, but Hyacinth frog-marches her distraught sister to the vicar to try to change her mind, determined not to lose her one genuine connection to a higher class. Richard is shown to not be fond of Violet, remarking how she is "always moaning", nor is he fond of Bruce and his eccentricities. |
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===Daddy=== |
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Daddy (played by ]) is the apparently ], divorced father of Hyacinth, Daisy, Rose and Violet; the prequel ''Young Hyacinth'' reveals his wife ran off with an ]. He lives with Onslow, Daisy and Rose. Hyacinth repeatedly makes bizarre excuses as to why he can't live with her (one being that he brings Sheridan out in a ]) whilst Daisy herself remarks in "Angel Gabriel Blue" that to punish Daddy by making him live with Hyacinth would be inhumane. Hyacinth loves her father dearly; however, his antics and constant requirement for attention put her social standing at risk. She tends to make up outlandish stories to explain his behavior to other people. It is often said by Richard that the rundown neighbourhood that Daddy lives in is the one he has lived in all his life, therefore revealing that Hyacinth grew up in the grubby, decrepit area she loathes visiting. |
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While mentally senile, Daddy is still quite capable physically and seems unable to keep himself out of trouble. He is fit enough to climb onto ], ride a ], steal ], dig ], ride ]s, and wander all over the countryside - all of which he has done, usually causing some embarrassment to his family in the process. Rose apparently inherited her promiscuous streak from him, as he is constantly ogling, pursuing, and accosting women, sometimes promising to marry them. He also ] from his younger days, such as his childhood and his service in ], and in those moments he will assume the character of his younger self in the clothes he wears and the actions he takes. He often goes missing and requires the rescue efforts of his daughters and sons-in-law. He has a medication which makes him very drowsy (and therefore manageable) when given, but whenever it wears off, he starts causing trouble again. |
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Daddy's screen appearances are somewhat rare and his spoken lines even more so. Although his given name is unknown, his surname is revealed to be Walton in ''Young Hyacinth'', in which his younger, middle-aged self is played by ]. |
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===Sheridan Bucket=== |
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An ], Sheridan is Hyacinth's and Richard's spoiled and selfish only son, about 18 years of age. He is away at college (a ] which Hyacinth insists is of a "] standard" - the first three series were written before the ]) and is known to audiences primarily through Hyacinth's telephone conversations with him. |
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The major ] surrounding Sheridan involves him ringing home whenever he needs money, Hyacinth without fail assuming at first that he is "just ringing his mummy" - despite his age, she still refers to herself and Richard as "mummy and daddy". Most of the time, he needs money for ludicrous things that his friend Tarquin has suggested, up to and including a walking holiday in ]. |
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Although Sheridan usually convinces Hyacinth of his need for the money (much to Richard's exasperation), Hyacinth is very occasionally able to say no. Hyacinth claims Sheridan writes to her constantly, and often expects to receive letters from him, but Sheridan rarely gets in touch unless he wants money. Only once in the series did Sheridan do something for his parents; in the episode "What to Wear When Yachting", he arranged a weekend for Hyacinth and Richard on a small ] owned by Tarquin's father. |
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Sheridan prefers not to talk to Richard on the phone and has been known to pretend to be someone else whenever he calls and Richard answers. The other running gag is that Richard suspects Sheridan is gay, something which is implied through his love of ], his ]-colored car, his desire for pure ] ], his male friend, Tarquin (with whom Sheridan makes his own ]), and his stated disinterest in girls. Richard regularly tries to raise the issue with Hyacinth, only for her to remain totally oblivious. |
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A glimpse of the back of Sheridan's head can be seen in the episode "Let There Be Light" while he is in a ], and during the opening credits, a ] of him as a young boy is seen on Hyacinth's ]; this is the closest he has ever been seen on the show. |
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==Neighbours== |
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=== Elizabeth 'Liz' Warden === |
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Elizabeth Warden (née Hawksworth) is Hyacinth's friendly, tolerant next-door neighbour who lives at number 24 Blossom Avenue. She has a brother, Emmett, who moves in with her in Series 2. She is played by ]. Hyacinth calls her Elizabeth, but everyone else calls her Liz. Hyacinth often invites her round for ], and despite frequent encouragement from her brother, Liz is too weak-willed to say no despite living in fear of Hyacinth's invitations. |
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Aware of Hyacinth's house-proud ways, Elizabeth is terrified of spilling, dropping or breaking anything in her neighbour's home, but ironically, Hyacinth's flighty mannerisms and nagging make Liz especially clumsy in her presence, and she indeed ends up spilling, dropping or breaking something nearly every time. |
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Unlike most, Liz ] with Hyacinth, aware of how she is despised by everyone, including Liz's brother Emmet. She is likely Hyacinth's only real friend (although she makes a point of referring to Hyacinth as a "neighbour" rather than a friend). This friendship is tested by Hyacinth's tactless and unthinking remarks, which usually involve Elizabeth's ], clothes, car, appearance, and her daughter's intelligence. Liz likes Richard quite dearly, and has deep sympathy for him; the two seem discreetly fond of each other. Liz feels pity for Hyacinth's and Richard's son, Sheridan, as well, believing "he never really stood a chance" with Hyacinth for a mother. Liz is also unsure whether to be amused by or disapproving of her brother's frequent attempts to avoid and/or exact revenge on Hyacinth. |
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Liz's husband Mr Warden is never seen: he is always away due to his work (he is variously mentioned as being in the ] or in ]). In "Onslow's Birthday", it is implied that Liz and her husband were having marriage troubles, which is what prompted him to take the position abroad. They have a daughter, Gail, who is also never seen but mentioned in conversation in a few early episodes. Gail grew up friends with Sheridan, but unlike Sheridan she goes to a proper ] and is trying to make something of herself. Hyacinth seems a bit jealous of Gail's success as compared to her son's, and sometimes finds reasons to put her down (such as having a live-in boyfriend) when she is mentioned. |
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While Elizabeth did eventually meet and become friends with Rose, Onslow, and Daisy in "Problems with Relatives", Hyacinth did her best to prevent this happening and afterwards would still go to great lengths to prevent her from seeing their shabby house. Both parties have offered lifts for the other when one is stranded on the side of the road, and have met on other occasions as well. Onslow even jokingly kissed Liz under the ] in the episode "The Father Christmas Suit", which prompted an inebriated Richard to do the same. |
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Liz owns a white 1988 ], which appeared in most episodes and was also subject to tactless comments from Hyacinth about its age and appearance, even though Hyacinth's own car is older. |
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===Emmet Hawksworth=== |
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Emmet, played by ], made his first appearance in "A Strange Man", and appeared in nearly every subsequent episode. At first, Hyacinth and Richard thought he was Liz's illicit lover, but later found out he was her brother who moved in after he reportedly <ref>Emmett claims to have lost his house in the divorce, but in more than one episode it is stated his wife ran away with another man and was the one at fault, so why he should lose his house is left an unresolved mystery.</ref> lost his own house in a messy ]. |
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Emmet is a cultured person, unlike most of Hyacinth's acquaintances. He ], enjoys working in the ], and has a fondness for ] (occasionally over-imbibing, which Liz chides him for). He is a classically trained ], as well as both ] and ] for the local amateur ]. He is also shown to have a fair singing voice, himself. Richard suggests that Emmett probably makes a good ] for his talents. Hyacinth, who always wanted to be on the stage, frequently sings at Emmet, and drops broad hints that he should include her in his work, but to no avail. |
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Emmet has a tendency to be somewhat ] (though not to the same extent as Rose) and is terrified of leaving the house because of Hyacinth's terrible singing and even worse ] being enough to "ruin his day." He develops a stronger aversion to Hyacinth than just about any other main character does, to the point he burst into tears when told they were going to visit Hyacinth when the latter was out of town in the episode "Violet's Country Cottage". He also frequently falls or hurts himself trying to run to escape her. |
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In "Singing for Emmett", Emmet explosively loses his temper at Hyacinth, only to realize Hyacinth is completely oblivious to it. Therefore, in later episodes, he frequently says nasty things about her practically to her face, because this incident taught him she doesn't listen and won't hear him. Emmett also begins to seek out ways to get back at Hyacinth for the misery she causes himself and Elizabeth. In "Let There Be Light", he and the Vicar's wife contrive to leave Hyacinth outside the church hall during the ] to meet a wealthy guest (who happens to own two disagreeable ], but Hyacinth doesn't know this). In "Hyacinth Is Alarmed", Emmett makes a point to call Hyacinth and tell her when the house across the street is ] twice, because he knows Hyacinth will be ] that the burglars thought there were better pickings at the Barker-Finches than at her own house. Arguably, his most famous revenge against Hyacinth came in "Please Mind Your Head", when he discovered Hyacinth was dressed in riding gear to impress the neighbors. He forced her to actually ride a horse to prove she could, taking great delight in her horrible attempts to mount and get the horse started, but showing some ] when the horse threw her and nearly injured her. |
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In the latter years of the programme, Hyacinth can no longer ignore the fact Emmett is desirous to avoid her, but assumes he's shy and possibly has a romantic attraction to her. Upon hearing this, Emmet says, "I think I want to die!" Emmett is often pursued by Rose as well, because she believes him handsome. Emmett is initially flattered by Rose's attentions, even showing some attraction to her, but eventually comes to fear her as well because of how eagerly she forces herself on him. |
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Like Liz, Emmett deeply sympathizes with Richard. He and Emmett become friends early on and Emmett is one of the few people who can get Richard to do something silly or unbecoming without Hyacinth being too upset, such as going to a ] in "Hyacinth is Alarmed". Emmett also is shown in several episodes to be friendly with Onslow, despite Hyacinth's initial attempts to keep them apart. |
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In the special features of the complete ] collection of the series, it is revealed that David Griffin was being treated for ] during much of the series' run. In later series, Emmett is noticeably much thinner and seems to have aged, because of this, though the show explains it as his having gotten "prison ]" from hiding indoors from Hyacinth all the time. <ref>https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0619136/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv</ref> |
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==Other recurring characters== |
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===Michael (the vicar)=== |
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Michael (played by ]) is the young and handsome ] of ]'s ], which Richard and Hyacinth attend. Like most, he is terrified of Hyacinth, and does his best to avoid her, often unsuccessfully. Moreover, he often forgets that Hyacinth prefers her last name to be pronounced "bouquet" and addresses her as "Mrs Bucket". When he's discussing Hyacinth with his wife, they refer to her as "the Bucket woman". |
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He first arrived in the ] in "The New Vicar", after being a ] ] for an unspecified amount of time (as referenced in "A Picnic for Daddy"). He is called "that dishy vicar" by Rose, who often pursues him, much to the anger of his jealous wife, who dislikes the fact that the majority of Michael's ] are women who make a fuss of him. The vicar being caught in compromising positions (which in context are quite innocent) with Rose or other women is a recurring gag in the series, as is the Vicar damaging whatever he's holding/using whenever Hyacinth's name is mentioned. However, despite his dislike, he feels it his duty to be sympathetic to Hyacinth most of the time, trying to rescue her from the ]'s amorous advances in "The Commodore" and agreeing to help her with her ] dilemma in "] Blue". He also twice stops to offer Hyacinth and Richard lifts when he spots them stranded on the side of the road, and agrees to try to counsel her sister Violet in the episode "]", though Violet is unwilling to go through with it. |
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The vicar likes Onslow and Daisy and is always glad to see them, and more than once has been to their house to help with various issues (such as a ] in Daddy's ], or Rose being depressed). However, he has made no secret of the fact he dislikes Hyacinth's father, famously standing up to Hyacinth in the episode "The Father Christmas Suit" to demand she take her inebriated and nearly-nude father away from the church Christmas gathering 'as soon as possible'. |
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Only once did the vicar try to exact revenge on Hyacinth, in the episode "Senior Citizen's Outing". He saddled her with the two most difficult seniors to deal with, telling his wife he'd 'make up for it on Sunday'. |
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===The vicar's wife=== |
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Vicar's Wife. Married to the vicar, (played by ]) is usually referred to as "dear" by her husband. She is a timid yet fiery young woman with a soft ] accent. She often finds her husband in compromising positions with Rose, whom she nicknames 'the ] sister', or other young females and incorrectly assumes the worst. These situations are usually prefaced in an earlier scene where she expresses ] over the attention that Michael's female parishioners give him. |
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The vicar's wife initially dislikes Hyacinth, but as the series goes on, she grows to see more ] in some of Hyacinth's behaviour than other characters do. She has been seen to stifle fits of ] at Hyacinth's suggestion of leaving sick parishioners outside while the vicar attends a party of Hyacinth's, and on another occasion merrily bobbed her head in time to Hyacinth's horrendous singing. She also is the only person who seems willing (instead of forced) to go on Hyacinth's little expedition in "Riverside Picnic". |
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Mrs. Partridge, like Emmett, has frequently attempted various small revenges against Hyacinth. In "How to Go On Holiday Without Really Trying", she deliberately tricked Hyacinth into cleaning the ] in the church hall all by herself, and in "Let There Be Light", she assigned Hyacinth to the booth farthest away from anyone else in the church ]. Furthermore, in the same episode, she and Emmett contrived to get Hyacinth to stay outside and wait for Mrs. Drummond and her disagreeable dogs, instead of helping set up the sale. |
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===The postman=== |
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Michael the ] was played by Leo Dolan in the first series and by ] from 1992 on. He is impertinent, high-strung, and completely overwhelmed by Hyacinth Bucket, of whom he lives in fear. He would rather avoid her, but tries to stand up to her when she pounces on him, which is every time he delivers (and occasionally throws) ] to her house. She constantly makes sure she takes all ] in person, never allowing him to put them in the ] itself and sternly rebuking him when he tries to do so. She frequently makes impossible demands of him, such as letting her see Elizabeth's mail, or switching all second class stamps on her letters to first class ], or having him track down ] or letters that were never actually sent. He tries many techniques to not speak to Hyacinth, but all fail. In later episodes he develops a bad ], and he openly tells Hyacinth it is her fault, but she seems not to notice. He is the father of seven children. |
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===The milkman=== |
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Played by Robert Rawles, the unnamed ] is in the same position as Michael the Postman, in that he constantly sneaks about doing his level best to avoid speaking to Hyacinth. Like the postman, he always fails, and usually finds himself bombarded with ridiculous requests such as finding out which specific ] the ] comes from and making sure Hyacinth receives the exact same ] every time. He and the postman consider themselves fellow brothers in affliction, and celebrate whenever Hyacinth is on holiday. However, unlike the postman, the milkman never loses his cool with Hyacinth and is not afraid of her, merely annoyed by her. |
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===The Major=== |
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The ] (played by ]), only appears in the first two series and hopelessly lusts after Hyacinth even though he is married to a never-seen wife, whom he refers to as "the ]". The Major lives in a large house called The ], which is just around the corner from Hyacinth and Richard's ]. |
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Major Wilton-Smythe fought in the ] of 1956. In the episode "] with the Major", he reveals he was wounded in the leg "somewhere east of ]", and he still has "some poxy foreign ] in there somewhere". He pretends to limp on this injury when he wants to get out of doing something he doesn't like, walking normally whenever people aren't watching. |
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He is brash and forceful, and disliked by Richard. In particular, Richard finds it odd that an elderly man like the major prefers whizzing about in a two-seat sports car convertible rather than driving in presumably a more sensible car - the major drives a ]. Despite his irritating behaviour, his upper-class status means that Hyacinth refuses to sever contact with the man. At one point she admits "it's a good thing he's a Major... if he were a Sergeant, he wouldn't get a foot past the door!" |
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===Mrs Councillor Nugent=== |
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Mrs Nugent (played by ]) is high up the ] but low down the ] scale, being a dull, bad-tempered and ill-mannered woman. She speaks in an overly loud and militaristic tone and goes on unnecessary tirades about "excessive romantic behaviour" and wasting ]. Despite her dislike of romance, however, she thinks it would be fun to be a part of the ], and dons a skimpy costume when she thinks Richard is filming an amateur ] in "Richard's New Hobby". |
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She also seems to be the only person who can get away with referring to Hyacinth as "Mrs Bucket" without Hyacinth correcting her. In "The Toy Store", when Mrs Nugent yells "Mrs Bucket", Hyacinth can be seen mouthing out "It's Bouquet", meaning she still wants to correct her, but stifles it. |
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Hyacinth tolerates her, not only because of her status, but also because she wants a place on her ]. The committee itself is never identified. Hyacinth admits that she doesn't know what the committee does, she just wants a seat on it. |
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==Other noteworthy appearances== |
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=== Mrs Fortescue === |
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Mrs Fortescue (played by ]) is the irascible, bossy and inconsiderate ] of a wealthy businessman who is a parishioner at the Buckets' church. Her sister is married to a ], which leads Hyacinth to perform favours for her even if they are inconvenient to her and Richard, with hopes of socializing with members of the nobility. She appeared in "Driving Mrs. Fortescue". |
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Mrs Fortescue asks for a lift into town - as she has had her own ] revoked for ] - and Hyacinth goes to enormous lengths to impress her, even forcing Richard to rehearse how he is going to ring her ]. Richard is not fond of Mrs Fortescue because she hits him with her ]. Much to Hyacinth's dismay, Mrs Fortescue accidentally meets Rose, Daisy and Onslow, and gets on extremely well with them. |
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===Signor Farrini and Mrs Lomax=== |
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Appearing only in "Senior Citizen's Outing", Signor Farrini (played by ]) and Mrs. Lomax (played by Rita Davies) were the two senior citizens Hyacinth was to escort to the outing at the beach. The vicar, knowing full well they were the two most difficult to manage of the group, deliberately saddled Hyacinth with them and told his wife that he knew it was wicked and that he would 'make up for it on Sunday'. |
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Signor Farrini was a senile, elderly ] gentleman, who was almost instantly enamored with Hyacinth. He did everything in his power to follow her around and express his love, even going so far as to ] himself and Hyacinth together when she wasn't looking. Mrs. Lomax was an even older lady, who suffered from severe ], to the point she would even begin to feel sick in anticipation of getting in the car and would require stops every few miles to prevent her from ]. She also had a gluttonous appetite for ] and ]. |
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===Bunty and Dorian=== |
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Bunty and Dorian (played by ] and Royce Mills) were two extremely eccentric neighbors of Bruce and Violet, who appeared in "Violet's Country Cottage". They lived in a ] next door to the aforementioned cottage, but whether they actually were ] or not was not mentioned. They tended to dress in shabby ]-like clothing and behaved very oddly, as befits friends of the equally eccentric Bruce, whom Bunty referred to as "The Weirdo". Bunty enjoyed ], ] and ]. She first met Hyacinth while looking for her lost dog (Hyacinth and Richard were staying in the cottage at the time). Richard met up with her husband Dorian while helping to look for the missing dog at Hyacinth's behest, and brought Dorian back to the cottage with him. Bunty quickly became drunk and Dorian started to pursue Hyacinth amorously, which amused Bunty to no end. For once, Hyacinth did not act snobbish but went with the flow, and the three of them danced a ] at the end of the episode. |
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===The Commodore=== |
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The ] (played by ]) appeared in the episode "The Commodore" and was an old ] man who became famous sailing round ] singlehandedly. He retired from the ] and made a living going around as a guest speaker at events. Hyacinth went to great lengths to meet and impress him, and volunteered the Vicar to give him a ride back to the ] after the Commodore had given a speech. The Commodore had a notorious reputation with the ladies, including a ]ous divorce. Hyacinth ignored warnings about him, enamored with the prospect of meeting a Commodore, until he tried to seduce her in the back seat of the Vicar's car. The Vicar tried to rescue the terrified Hyacinth by offering to let her out of the car, but because stopping would mean the Commodore would miss his ] (and be stuck with her!) Hyacinth told him to keep driving. |
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== See also == |
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* '']'' (]) |
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==References== |
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<references /> |
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* ] Content in this article was copied from and at the Keeping Up Appearances Wiki, which is licensed under the . |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Keeping Up Appearances Characters, List Of}} |
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