Wasn’t there a rumour that Patricia Routledge was in a relationship with Betty Boothroyd? (Absolutely scandalous, I know but it’s one of those persistent rumours that’s been going round since I was at school).
Also the actress who played Young Hyancinth in the prequel absolutely nailed her mannerisms and I’d have loved to see a full series but the Beeb went with a tit Porridge prequel starring Kevin Bishop instead.
Absolutely true. I worked in Parliament at the time and it was common knowledge.
They got together 'later' in life but the knew each other from childhood. Both were Vaudeville performers and were pushed on stage as soon as they could walk.
I quite often saw PR around Westminster as she stayed with BB in her apartments, although they were both very discreet. It was a bit of a shock to teenage me, not because they were lesbians but because it was Hyacinth Bucket and they were sooooooo old!!! (Actually probably not any older than I am now!)
After I stopped working there I was no longer privy to gossip. Parliamentary workers are unbelievably discreet when it comes to the secret lives of MPs, no bugger would tell me anything! I really hope they stayed together, they were both very lovely and deserved to be happy.