Patricia Routledge, the award-winning British actress and singer best known for her role as Hyacinth Bucket on Keeping Up Appearances, died on Oct.3 in Chichester, England. "We are deeply saddened to confirm the passing of Dame Patricia Routledge, who died peacefully in her sleep this morning surrounded by love," Massenbach said. Massenbach shared that Routledge died in her sleep after a short illness. Patricia Routledge and Clive Swift 'Keeping Up Appearances'. Her last screen appearance was in the 2001 British television movie Anybody's Nightmare, a true-crime drama about a teacher in her 60s wrongly imprisoned for murder.