Mayor pays tribute to Dame Patricia Routledge
The Mayor of Wirral has paid tribute to Dame Patricia Routledge, who passed away earlier today.
The world of entertainment lost a wonderful and enduring star this morning.
Her exceptional acting and singing talents, formidable intellect, and brilliant wit, took her from humble beginnings in Tranmere to TVs in living rooms across the land, via the West End and Broadway.
I, like everyone in Wirral, am so proud of what she achieved and grateful that we had the opportunity to properly recognise her accomplishments when the Council presented her with the Honorary Freedom of the Borough earlier this year.
Dame Patricia was born in Tranmere in 1929, attending Mersey Park Primary School and Birkenhead High School, before going on to read English at the University of Liverpool. Her studies later continued at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and London’s Guildhall School of Music.
In a career spanning more than 70 years she became a household name through hundreds of radio, stage, film and television roles, including, To Sir With Love, Steptoe and Son, Coronation Street, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, Alan Bennett’s series of monologues ‘Talking Heads’, Victoria Wood’s ‘Kitty’ and as Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances.
Her work was recognised with nominations for dozens of the highest-level entertainment industry awards, winning a Tony Award (Broadway’s highest honour) for Best Actress in a Musical for ‘Darling of the Day’, an Olivier Award (the West End’s highest honour) for Best Actress in a Musical for ‘Candide’, and a British Comedy Award for Personality of the Year for her role in ‘Keeping Up Appearances’.
Dame Patricia returned to her hometown on 17 January 2025 to receive Wirral’s highest honour – the Honorary Freedom of the Borough – at a special reception in Birkenhead town hall, where she was joined by civic leaders including the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside, The High Sheriff of Merseyside and a number of her friends. Pupils from Mersey Park Primary School, where Dame Patricia was once a member of the school choir, entertained the guests.
