Young Hyacinth explored in one-off special!

Him & Her actress Kerry Howard is to play Young Hyacinth in a one-off BBC One special prequel to 90’s classic sitcom, Keeping Up Appearances.

Written by the original creator Roy Clarke, Young Hyacinth tells the story of Hyacinth’s early adulthood and also stars Mark Addy (Game Of Thrones), Tamla Kari (The Musketeers), Katherine Pearce (Our Girl), James Wrighton (I Live With Models), Debra Stephenson (Coronation Street), Katie Redford (Mount Pleasant), Tim Downie (Toast Of London) and Tony Gardner (Fresh Meat).

Set in the late 1950s in a crowded canal cottage, Hyacinth’s desperate attempts to transform her sisters and her Dad (Addy) into an altogether better class of family are not always appreciated. The sisters have their own dreams and ambitions, Violet (Kari) dreams of wealth, Daisy (Pearce) dreams of the great outdoors and Rose (Redford) dreams of film stars and boys; whilst Hyacinth dreams of the day she’ll have matching china. Oh and how she wishes that her darling Daddy, currently scraping by as a part-time brush salesman with a tricycle and a drink problem, could be more like ex-Squadron Leader Cooper-Smith, for whom she works as a maid.

Kerry Howard, says: “It is such a privilege to get this opportunity to play the part that turned Patricia Routledge into a comedy legend. I grew up watching her and never dreamed that the original writer Roy Clarke would revisit Hyacinth in her early years and explain why she is the way she is. The script is incredible and he is such a sharp writer. This is a gift of a part and I’m very humbled that the BBC have entrusted it to me. I can’t wait to play her!”

Roy Clarke says: “Often, even during the elder Hyacinth’s reign, I would wonder what this formidable mature lady would have been like as a young woman. Would the Hyacinth powers already be there? Well, to my delight, I’ve been given the chance to find out. I’ve been allowed to wander into her background and investigate, almost a piece of archaeology really, until there she was – Young Hyacinth in early blossom. I hope those who knew her in her prime will find as much pleasure in this re-creation of her as I have.”

Young Hyacinth will air this summer on BBC One as part of a landmark sitcom season.