I admit that when I first heard that the BBC were planning to revive 'Keeping Up Appearances', my heart sank. My initial thought was, ''Oh, here we go, another rubbish revival!''. Even when I heard that Roy Clarke was planning to devise it as a prequel, set when Hyacinth was a young woman, my hostility did not really subside any. However, being the fair person that I am I decided to give it a chance and to my utmost surprise, I found it to be far better than I expected. How nice it feels to be proved wrong.
Set in the late 1950's, Hyacinth ( who is yet to have met Richard ) is servant to the constantly bickering Claude ( he a serial womaniser ) and Dulcie ( her a gin addict ) Cooper-Smith. Daisy ( portrayed by Katherine Pearce ) works as a lock-keeper and is yet to meet her Onslow, Rose ( Katie Redford ) sleeps with anything that moves ( a trait that would not leave her in her later life as was evident in the show's predecessor ) and Violet ( Tamla Kari ) seems to scrape by as a sultry confidence trickster. Meanwhile, the girls' father ( otherwise known as 'Daddy' ) manages to scrape a wage as a brush salesman despite his ever increasing alcoholism ( which Hyacinth tries to pass off to people as the effects of a war wound ). It would appear that their mother has 'ran off with a Yank', a fact which Hyacinth is in denial about, insisting that their mother was 'killed in The Blitz!'. They all live in a cramped, comfortless cottage nearby the canal, where Daddy usually ends up residing following a day on the sauce.
Unfortunately, as Hyacinth has seen how the other half live, things are never going to be the same again. For her family, it is the start of a never ending nightmare.
Kerry Howard was well cast as Hyacinth. Managing admirably to capture the mannerisms and relish that Patricia Routledge so wonderfully put into her performance in the original show. In fact, in some scenes, Howard's facial expressions bear a strong resemblance to that of a young Patricia Routledge. Mark Addy was hilarious as Hyacinth's sozzled daddy and Katherine Pearce had some good lines as Daisy. Tamla Kari made for a sexy and seductive Violet. Debra Stephenson and Tony Gardiner seemed to be the main driving source of humour. Now it's plain where Hyacinth grandiose dreams of getting a foot on the social ladder stem from. Only Katie Redford failed to convince as Rose.
One person who certainly was not willing to give 'Young Hyacinth' a go was Ms. Routledge herself, who has blasted the BBC for being 'desperate' following their decision to revive the show. Kerry Howard has gone on record to regard Routledge's remarks as 'scathing'.
On the whole, 'Young Hyacinth' was a handsomely mounted piece with beautiful location shooting, decent acting ( most especially from the beautiful Howard ) and some witty lines from Roy Clarke. Great signs of potential have been displayed which hopefully means it should expand into a series.
Funniest bit - Hyacinth's insistence that her mother was 'killed in The Blitz' and not to have 'run of with a Yank' as her father bluntly puts it. ''Well, she did get herself bombed a few times!'', says her father crudely!
