Keeping Up Appearances

Hyacinth has bought Richard a Father Christmas outfit for him to wear when distributing gifts to the old people at the Church Hall. Against his will, Richard puts on the outfit, but after having one too many sherries with Emmett, he is unable to fulfil the deed, hence Elizabeth puts on the outfit and pretends to be Richard.

Hyacinth and Richard prepare for their luxury stay on the QE2. Yet traffic, a muddy field and too much luggage result in a disastrous start to a holiday that only gets much worse for Hyacinth when she has reason to believe Onslow and Daisy have stowed-away and are also onboard the luxury cruise.

Hyacinth is in search for her dream kitchen while Richard has developed a fungus infection, not to his wife's approval. As a result, Hyacinth claims it is gout, a disease supposedly caught by "good living". Meanwhile Daddy has gone missing again and there is a stranger in his place.

Daddy has died, just when Hyacinth is expecting people for a candlelight supper, finger buffet and a first showing of her holiday slides.

Hyacinth and Richard arrive at the Church hall as Hyacinth organises a Pageant based on the English Civil War, with herself as Queen Henrietta Maria and Richard as Charles I. However all of the volunteers supposedly taking part are unable to make it. At a last minute attempt to get the show off the ground, Hyacinth invites Onslow, Daisy and Rose along with Bruce and Violet to participate. Later in rehearsals however, Hyacinth falls foul of a stage accident.

A clip from Noel's House Party where Mr. Blobby pays Hyacinth and Richard a visit.

Daisy and Onslow find the secret diary of Hyacinth and start reading in it. The rest of this TV-special are clips from previous episodes.

The documentary series Comedy Connections featured an episode dedicated to Keeping Up Appearances. Stars Clive Swift, Josephine Tewson, Judy Cornwell and David Griffin, along with writer Roy Clarke and producer/director Harold Snoad, all discussed the series. Clips from an interview with Patricia Routledge from 2002 were also included. The episode revealed that there were serious artistic differences between Clarke and Snoad.

You'll laugh too hard to take notes when Hyacinth's beer-drinking and philosophizing brother-in-law, Onslow, gives a lecture on successful human relationships, using examples from Keeping Up Appearances.

An interview with Judy Cornwell

An interview with Patricia Routledge

Pebble Mill interviews Patricia Routledge and Clive Swift.

From the character Kitty that Patricia Routledge played on Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV.

Exclusive UK commercial featuring Hyacinth and Elizabeth.

Profile of Patricia Routledge

Newly recorded interviews with Patricia Routledge, Roy Clarke and others.

Long before she became Mrs Bucket, young Hyacinth was already dreaming of matching china and a bedroom in pastel shades. But her desperate attempts to transform her sisters and her darling Daddy into an altogether better class of family are not appreciated. Daisy goes around wearing Daddy's overalls, Rose has a new boyfriend every week and if Violet continues consorting with her married manager, she could be inches away from shame and destitution.