''Young Hyacinth'' is a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

to the

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

Keeping Up Appearances ''Keeping Up Appearances'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke. It originally aired on BBC1 from 1990 to 1995 with two specials airing in 1997 and 2008 on PBS. The central character is an eccentric and snobbish middle class so ...

'', written by original writer

Roy Clarke Royston Clarke Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 28 January 1930), usually known as Roy Clarke, is an English comedy writer best known for creating the sitcoms ''Last of the Summer Wine'', ''Keeping Up Appearances'', ''Open All Hours'' a ...

. ''Keeping Up Appearances'' ran for 44 episodes in five series from 1990 to 1995 and two TV specials in 1997 and 2008, created and written by Roy Clarke. The one-off special, set some forty years before the events of ''Keeping Up Appearances'', follows the early life of Hyacinth Walton (later Bucket), as she desperately attempts to better her sisters and dad. The special premiered on 2 September 2016 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

as part of the BBC

Landmark Sitcom Season ''Landmark Sitcom Season'' is a BBC project, launched in March 2016, to mark 60 years since ''Hancock's Half Hour'' started on BBC television. As part of ongoing celebrations throughout 2016, the BBC has commissioned new scripts for iconic Briti ...

Cast

Kerry Howard Kerry Elizabeth Howard (born 24 March 1982) is an English actress. She played Laura in the BBC Three comedy series ''Him & Her'' and Leanne in '' Witless''. She also appears in BBC Three "Feed My Funny" comedy sketches with Lu Corfield and acte ...

as Hyacinth Walton *

Mark Addy Mark Ian Addy (born 14 January 1964) is an English actor. His roles in British television include Detective Constable Gary Boyle in the sitcom '' The Thin Blue Line'' (1995–1996) and Hercules in the fantasy drama series ''Atlantis'' (2013–2 ...

as Daddy *

Tamla Kari Tamla Kari Cummins (born 27 July 1988), known as Tamla Kari, is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Constance Bonacieux in the BBC television series ''The Musketeers'', and Lucy in ''The Inbetweeners Movie'' and ''The Inbetwe ...

as Violet Walton * Katherine Pearce as Daisy Walton *

Katie Redford Katharine "Katie" Redford (born March 7, 1968) is an American human rights lawyer and activist who is credited with spearheading a movement to hold international companies accountable for overseas abuse in their home court jurisdictions, and in doi ...

as Rose Walton *

Tony Gardner Tony Gardner (born 10 January 1964) is an English actor and doctor. He sits on the national governing body of the actors' trade union Equity. Career Gardner qualified as a physician at Guy's Hospital in 1987, then as a general practitioner in ...

as Claude *

Debra Stephenson Debra Stephenson (born 4 June 1972) is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer, best known for her roles as Diane Powell in ''Playing the Field'', Shell Dockley in '' Bad Girls'' and as Frankie Baldwin in ''Coronation Street''. ...

as Dulcie *

Tim Downie Timothy Richard Downie (born 14 July 1977) is an English actor and writer. He is known for the television series ''Toast of London'', '' Outlander'' and ''Upstart Crow'', and the films ''Paddington'' and ''The King's Speech''. Downie was born in ...

as Freddy * James Wrighton as William

Summary

In the late 1950s, a young Hyacinth Walton is working as a domestic servant for the Cooper-Smiths by day while living in a small canal cottage with her alcoholic father and three sisters (Violet, Rose and Daisy). Impressed by her eccentric employers, Hyacinth vows to escape her poor background and enter a world of the elegant upper class.

Broadcast

The show was broadcast on 2 September 2016 on

in the United Kingdom and 4.14 million viewers watched the show within seven days of its broadcast, making it the 22nd most watched BBC One show for the week ending September 4. 4.39 million viewers watched the show within 28 days of its initial broadcast.

References

External links

* * {{Roy Clarke 2016 television films BBC high definition shows BBC television comedy BBC television sitcoms English-language television shows Prequel television series Television series set in the 1950s Television series by BBC Studios