Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC, centred on the life of eccentric and snobbish middle class social climber Hyacinth Bucket, who insists that her surname is pronounced "Bouquet". The sitcom follows Hyacinth in her attempts to prove her social superiority and to gain standing with those she considers upper class; attempts that are constantly hampered by her decidedly lower-class extended family whom she desperately seeks to hide.