To feel odd about people from my childhood dying, despite never having met them

[QuietlyFrench]

When I read Patricia Routledge had died, I felt really sad. I’ve never met her but I used to watch Keeping Up Appearances with my mum and dad.

I felt the same when Bruce Forsyth died. He was just always there. You kind of feel like they’ll be around forever.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not distraught and I obviously understand time doesn’t stand still, people die, etc. But it almost feels like part of my childhood dies when they go.

Unreasonable?

I know what you mean. It’s like having another line drawn between the past and the present, making our own past feel more like history now when these people aren’t alive any more.

It's not odd at all.

Not odd at all, I though the same thing today.
I remember watching Hyacinth Bucket with my Mum and Gran and they had tears rolling down their faces, they thought she was hilarious.
It felt like a bridge to another, very happy time.

It’s even weirder when it’s not someone I used to watch/listen to particularly. I was affected by the death of Terry Wogan because, as you say, he was just always there and he’s synonymous with Comic Relief (is that still going?) which I remember from my childhood.

I could be getting old, but I do think the calibre of TV and radio presenters has dropped and there are no long-time broadcasters with legend status anymore, like Wogan. Maybe because podcasters have taken over? From Wogan to Rogan.

I think a part of the reason for announcing the deaths is because they know ordinary people have a strong connection to them. You might not have met them, but they were there in the background. It’s totally normal to feel that way and to feel sad about it if they were someone you liked. I felt a bit sad when I read about Hyacinth, it gave me flashes of scenes from the show that I loved growing up.

I feel exactly the same. I loved Keeping Up Appearances as a child and watched it with my mum so I felt really sad when I heard Patricia Routledge had died recently.

There's definitely something about the loss of connection to an era when an actor dies. I'm really watching old episodes now and it's very poignant, especially as my mum is now dead too.

Brilliant explanation, i know exactly what you mean .

I think it reminds us life has an ending. Mostly we ignore that.