Patricia Routledge

The daughter of Isaac Routledge, a haberdasher, and his wife, Catherine. During WWII, the family lived for weeks at a time in the basement of her father's shop. She attended Birkenhead High School, where she sang in the choir and ran the Sunday School. She studied English at Liverpool University, and, after graduation, worked without pay at the Liverpool Playhouse. She was asked to join the company, and later studied at Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol. She then moved to London, where she built an impressive stage career over the next several years, also appearing on Broadway between 1966 and 1968. She worked in TV from the early 1950s onward, most recently in Keeping Up Appearances (1990). She also recorded an album, "Presenting Patricia Routledge", and worked in film and radio. She never married or had children.