It’s not a great surprise to see the life and times of social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet, she insists) transferred to the stage.

The sitcom may have aired for only five years, between 1990 and 1995, but the lady seeped into the national consciousness like a red wine stain on a silk frock and the show was in fact ranked 12th in a survey of the UK’s 100 Best Sitcoms.

What sets this comedy play apart from the many stage adaptations of popular television sitcoms is that it isn’t old episodes glued together. It’s a specially-written show by the writer of the series, Roy Clarke.

Clarke, at 80, is the man behind the likes of Open All Hours and Last of the Summer Wine, so you can be sure he’s come up with a stage play of some integrity.

This story follows the attempts of Hyacinth to land the role of Lady Malvern in the local amateur dramatic society’s latest production.

But all doesn’t go to plan. We discover that Emmet, the normally awkward highly-strung neighbour, is also the director of the local am-dram group. And Emmet would rather the top part went to someone else.

Hyacinth, works her way in, of course, but not knowing she must also play the cook. She’s not happy, and when she finds out that her sister Daisy is playing a Duchess, well you can just imagine the effrontery.

The setting, the village hall, may throw the audience a little because Hyacinth is removed from her home environment; she is unable to answer callers on her ‘white slim line telephone with last number redial’ with her shrill greeting: “The ‘Bouquet’ residence, the lady of the house speaking!”

Instead, she accepts calls on her mobile with the equally pretentious: “You have reached the personal mobile telephone of Hyacinth ‘Bouquet’. This is she speaking!”

Rachel Bell steps into the formidable shoes of Patricia Routledge to play Hyacinth, while Gareth Hale, formerly best known as one half of the comedy double act Hale & Pace, appears as Onslow.

Kim Hartman plays Elizabeth, Debbie Arnold plays Rose, and Steven Pinder, who played Max Farnham in Brookside for 13 years, stars as Emmet.

Sarah Whitlock and David Janson (who made recurring appearances as the postman in the original TV series) complete the cast as two new characters, Mrs Debden and Mr Milson.

Don’t expect a night of raucous comedy; Roy Clarke’s script is more gentle than that, but one reviewer did suggest “Those who are socially less fortunate than the illustrious Hyacinth should book their tickets immediately.

“After all, she is imparting her accumulated wisdom. It is nothing less than your social duty to attend and ensure that, in future, you too are capable of ‘Keeping Up Appearances’.”

• Theatre Royal, September 6-11.