Hyacinth's Hilarious "Richard" Moments | Keeping Up Appearances

Played by Clive Swift, Richard Bucket is Hyacinth's long-suffering husband who is at her beck and call. Richard is a calm, tolerant and relaxed character who cares little for enhancing or preserving social status, and he seems content with his (barely) middle class standing. He is usually laid back but has two great fears; heights, and Hyacinth spending too much money on things. He pronounces his last name, Bucket, as the English word, and snaps to Hyacinth in one episode: "It's not 'Bouquet', it's Bucket! It was always Bucket until I met you."

Richard Bucket married Hyacinth Walton (as she was back then) on 9 February 1963 and moved into 22 Blossom Avenue at a later date. Although the house is in his name, he does not have a key for it: Hyacinth has the only key. Until series three, he works as a public servant, a deputy in the Town Council's Department of Finance and General Purposes. He dreads the idea of retirement, as it would mean being with Hyacinth all day, every day for the rest of his life, but is forced into early retirement despite begging and pleading with his boss. After his early retirement, Hyacinth attempts to get Richard back into the workforce in a "senior executive position" in several jobs, but the attempts never succeed. In "The Senior Citizens' Outing", he is seen reading a self-help book titled, Can You Afford to Retire?, suggesting he too is still eager to get back into the workforce, though this is more likely as a means of escaping Hyacinth than any real monetary concern.

A few times, Richard has stood up to Hyacinth in public because of her unreasonable behaviour, driving her into shock, but he is usually meek and mild in front of other people. He is not afraid to disagree with Hyacinth in private, however, and does so frequently, though she never listens and he always winds up capitulating to her whims. These usually involve contrived plots to impress neighbours or aristocrats, or a far-fetched plan to avoid Hyacinth's down-market family, whom he actually prefers to the upper-class people Hyacinth is determined to mingle with. Whenever anyone asks how he manages to cope with Hyacinth, he often compares his marriage to being in the army: every day is routinely planned out for him, and he never has to make any decisions. He also points out that Hyacinth is extremely kind and caters to his every need. However, in "Please Mind Your Head", it is revealed that they are no longer intimate, as Hyacinth disapproves of it at their age, and in other episodes Richard indicates that Hyacinth lost interest in him once their son Sheridan was born.

Richard and Hyacinth own a blue 1986 Rover 216, which Richard is often forced to polish, sometimes multiple times a day. He drives the car because Hyacinth has not learned to drive, but claims he only steers while Hyacinth drives by "word of mouth". A running gag of the series is that, besides directing every turn he makes, Hyacinth incessantly tells him to watch out for various people, animals, or objects that are on the side of the road or on the pavement, as if they might suddenly leap out and block Richard's path. An exasperated Richard usually responds with "Minding the... whatever it is!", in a silly voice, which irritates Hyacinth.

Richard is an avid reader, and is often shown with a book in hand – he mentions to the vicar in "Let There Be Light" that he uses reading as an escape from Hyacinth, often reading in the bathroom to avoid interruption. However, while Richard protests otherwise, Hyacinth insists Richard's favourite hobby is gardening, and forces him to work in the garden wearing a necktie and look happy while doing so, hoping neighbours will think they could afford a gardener but don't have one because Richard likes doing it himself. Hyacinth twice tries to get him started in golf, also to impress wealthy people, but Richard is no good at it. In "Richard's New Hobby", Hyacinth also tried to get him started in amateur cinematography, but an unfortunate mishap involving the police put that to an end quickly. As shown in several episodes, Richard sings, and is actually a bit better at it than Hyacinth is, but he usually does not make a habit of singing unless asked to by someone else. In "The Father Christmas Suit", it was revealed he also knows how to play piano (Richard plays while he and Emmet drunkenly sing "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"). In "How to Go on Holiday Without Really Trying", Richard is shown to be excellent at billiards, when Onslow "kidnaps" him and takes him to a local pub.

Roy Clarke, writer of the show, described Richard as a foil to show Hyacinth's character to worst advantage. Although various characters in the series often express bemusement as to Richard's tolerance for Hyacinth, the cast and crew observe that he simply loves her and that his sense of humour helps get him through.