Hyacinth Bucket

Hyacinth Bucket is the main character in the successful BBC sitcom, Keeping Up Appearances (1990 to 1993 and again in 1995) played with great relish by Patricia Routledge.

A running joke in the series is her insistence that her last name be pronounced like 'bouquet'. This gag is amplified by Hyacinth's sisters, all of whom are also named after flowers.

Another gag in the series is that her phone number is constantly being confused with the local Chinese takeaway. She has become peeved to the point that she's enlisted the help of the Chinese ambassador, but to no avail.

One of the most famous gags is Hyacinth receiving phone calls from her son Sheridan, who is off at university with his roommate Tarquin. It is implied by the subject matter of these phone calls that Sheridan is homosexual, but Hyacinth just sees him as "mummy's boy". Although she is not there with him, she dotes on him in the form of compliments, such as "How very thoughtful of you to ring mummy, dear." Hyacinth's husband Richard has an idea that Sheridan is gay, but does not tell Hyacinth because, in all likelihood, she wouldn't listen to a word he was saying anyway.