The BEST episodes of Keeping Up Appearances
Every episode of Keeping Up Appearances ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Keeping Up Appearances!
British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances features Patricia Routledge as Hyacinth Bucket, a wannabe social climber who insists her surname be pronounced "Bouquet." Her incessant attempts to project an upper-crust image cause grief for all those around her, including henpecked husband Richard, the local vicar and her neighbours. Providing a constant source of embarrassment are Hyacinth's unsophisticated sisters Daisy and Rose as well as lazy, crude brother-in-law Onslow.
#1 - What to Wear When Yachting
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/18/1992
Hyacinth and Richard spend the weekend on a yacht.
#2 - The New Vicar
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/5/1990
Hyacinth is determined to create the perfect impression when inviting the new Vicar for “tea and light refreshments”. However her hopes come crashing down on her when Onslow and Daisy turn up with the news Daddy has been kidnapped by a gypsy. The day gets even worse for the polish-perfecting protagonist when Rose turns up, on her way to her own funeral.
#3 - The Hostess
Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/5/1995
Hyacinth has put an advert in the local newspaper to teach people social etiquette, however an excited Hyacinth does not quite get what she expected.
#4 - The Christening
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/3/1990
Daisy and Onslow’s granddaughter Kylie is getting christened, but Hyacinth is unimpressed because there has not been a wedding first. The day does not get any better for Hyacinth when she and Richard are forced to come to the rescue of the baby's mother Stephanie, whose transport has broken down. The leading lady then learns the baby's mother is a hippie, who is unaware of the baby’s father.
#5 - A Strange Man
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/1/1991
Hyacinth is shocked to see a strange man wearing only a towel emerge from Elizabeth's house, thus she tells Richard they will have to move house. However her opinions change when discovering who the man really is. Meanwhile Daddy has gone missing.
#6 - Driving Mrs. Fortescue
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/8/1991
Hyacinth and Richard drive a wealthy Mrs Fortescue into town, however Hyacinth's plans to impress are crushed by her family when Daisy and Rose flag down the Buckets for a lift. Eventually to Hyacinth's dismay, this leads to Mrs Fortescue playing darts with Onslow in a public house.
#7 - The Toy Store
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/20/1991
Daddy has ended up at the toy store and is "improving" a few toys with the help of a screw driver. This results in Hyacinth and Richard having to go into town to solve the problem, where Hyacinth fears for her status when meeting Mrs. Counsellor Nugent.
#8 - The Three-Piece Suite
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 10/27/1991
Hyacinth is very excited at the prospect of having her new three piece suite, an exact replica of the one at Sandringham House, delivered. She will also give Daisy and Onslow her old suite, provided they pick it up themselves. But of course these two events are likely to collide at some point, creating an insurmountable disaster.
#9 - How to Go on Holiday Without Really Trying
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/27/1992
Hyacinth takes a trip to the travel agents for some ""quality"" holiday brochures. Afterwards, Onslow decides to take Richard in hand and show him how to 'enjoy' life.
#10 - Hyacinth Is Alarmed
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/17/1995
Richard is terrified to wake up to see Hyacinth smiling at him; he later realises he has forgotten his and Hyacinth's wedding anniversary. Richard then decides to have an alarm system installed, claiming it is Hyacinth's "surprise" anniversary present.
#11 - A Barbecue at Violet's
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/22/1995
A ""luxury barbecue"" at Violet's house looks like being a disaster because Bruce and Violet keep having violent arguments. Hyacinth organises a sing song in an attempt to take everyone's mind off their hosts' battle. Later, Hyacinth goes along to a rehearsal of ""The Boy Friend"" to offer her services to Emmet.
#12 - Daddy's Accident
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/29/1990
Hyacinth's "Daddy" is put into an ambulance and taken to hospital, after getting injured chasing after the milk woman naked on his bike. After visiting him, Hyacinth returns home and is visited by the gas man, whose life she makes difficult.
#13 - Looking at Properties
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/3/1993
Richard panics when leaving Hyacinth to browse country property without him, fearing she will purchase something they cannot afford, as he collects "Daddy" from a police station. Finally Hyacinth decides on a country property.
#14 - Please Mind Your Head
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/10/1993
Hyacinth and Richard are settling into their new country apartment, but Richard is less than enthused with its diminutive size. It's already cramped enough as it is for two, but when Hyacinth invites friends over, it becomes unbearably tiny!
#15 - The Senior Citizen's Outing
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/3/1995
Hyacinth volunteers to look after the old people in an outing to the funfair, however a certain old man proves to be quite a handful. As the day progresses, Hyacinth ends up in a mirror house, on some dodgems and on a ghost train.
#16 - A Riverside Picnic
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/24/1995
Hyacinth organises a riverside picnic, much to the despair of those invited. Despite Emett's and the Vicar's best efforts to tell Hyacinth they are unable to attend, they find getting out of Hyacinth's function impossible. As always, Hyacinth's plans of perfection are shattered when a digger dumps dirt in her chosen location for the picnic.
#17 - The Boy Friend
Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/15/1995
Hyacinth sings to her hearts content when discovering Emmett's latest musical The Boyfriend is in production. Meanwhile Daddy is once again back in the war and guarding Onslow’s house with a sharp object.
#18 - Stately Home
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/12/1990
Hyacinth and Richard visit a stately home where the leading lady hopes to meet a member of the aristocratic family. However she fears her social status will be sabotaged by Onslow, Daisy and Rose, who turn up unexpectedly. Thus Hyacinth drags Richard through the ground's private gardens to hide from the lower-class clan.
#19 - Daisy's Toyboy
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/26/1990
In an attempt to make Onslow jealous, Daisy finds herself a toyboy. However the plan fails and Daisy sends Onslow to the Church hall to meet Richard, in a final ploy to get him to notice her antics.
#20 - A Job for Richard
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/5/1993
Hyacinth’s attempts to keep Richard occupied in his years of retirement continue. Now she has found him an executive job in frozen foods, and to impress the manager of the company she has contrived a plot involving Onslow and golf.
#21 - The Art Exhibition
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/11/1992
Daddy runs off to join the Foreign Legion. Hyacinth and Richard manage to find him, but he escapes again and runs riot at an art gallery - The same art gallery that Hyacinth and Richard have been invited to!
#22 - The Charity Shop
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/19/1990
It is Liz and Hyacinth's day to help Mrs Nugent at the charity shop, and on their way there, Hyacinth has to make a visit to Onslow and Daisy's to remove a woman (played by Gretchen Franklin) from Daddy's room, refusing to leave. Meanwhile Rose intends to give up men, and arrives at the charity shop to donate her raunchy underwear.
#23 - Problems with Relatives
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/29/1991
Hyacinth's brother-in-law Bruce is stuck up a tree, Daddy goes to the register office to be married and Emmett meets Daisy, Onslow and Rose, throwing Hyacinth into dismay. Liz offers to drive Daddy back to Daisy's, but to avoid herself and Emmett seeing how Daisy and Onslow live, Hyacinth insists they stop off at Violet's.
#24 - Singing for Emmet
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/13/1991
Richard is offered early retirement and so ponders over the possibility of having to spend all day everyday with Hyacinth. Emmett is enraged when Hyacinth ends up rehearsing a performance for the old people at the Church Hall with him, and a tranquilised Rose arrives at the scene wanting to become a nun.
#25 - Country Estate Sale
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/8/1995
Richard is not looking forward to going to a country house sale with Hyacinth as he believes she will spend beyond their limit. Liz and brother Emmett are also going to the sale, and are devastated when they realise Hyacinth is there. Meanwhile, a Mrs Braddock has commandeered Onslow’s car and is impersonating his dog, which has gone missing.