British actress Prunella Scales, best known for her role as the sharp-tongued Sybil Fawlty in the beloved sitcom “Fawlty Towers,” has died peacefully at her home in London. She was 93.
Her sons, Samuel and Joseph, confirmed her death through the U.K.’s PA Media news agency, saying she passed away on Monday after spending her final days “comfortable, contented and surrounded by love.” They shared that Scales had been watching episodes of “Fawlty Towers” the day before she died.
“We would like to thank all those who gave Pru such wonderful care at the end of her life,” the family said in a statement.
Scales was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013, which led to her retirement from acting after a career spanning nearly seven decades, according to PEOPLE.
John Cleese, who co-created “Fawlty Towers” and starred as her on-screen husband Basil Fawlty, paid tribute in a statement to the BBC.
“Scene after scene she was absolutely perfect,” said Cleese, 86. “She was a very sweet lady, who spent a lot of her life apologizing. I used to tease her about it. I was very, very fond of her.”
Born in Surrey, England, in 1932, Scales began her theater career as an assistant stage manager in 1951. Her first major television role came in the 1960s sitcom “The Marriage Lines,” before achieving international fame in Fawlty Towers, which aired just 12 episodes between 1975 and 1979. In 2000, the British Film Institute named the series the greatest British TV program of all time.
Reflecting on her most famous character to the Hollywood Reporter, Scales once said Sybil’s frustration came from realizing “she had landed with an upper-class twit for a husband.” Yet, she added, “behind all of Sybil’s apparent disenchantment with Basil, there is still some — just enough — real affection for him.”
Beyond “Fawlty Towers,” Scales had a prolific career across television, film, and theater. Her credits include the 1980s series “Mapp & Lucia” and films such as “Howards End” and “Wolf.” She received a BAFTA nomination for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the 1991 television play “A Question of Attribution” and was awarded a CBE the following year.
Scales was married to actor Timothy West from 1963 until his death in November 2024. The pair co-starred in Channel 4’s “Great Canal Journeys” from 2014 to 2019.
She is survived by her two sons, a stepdaughter, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
This story was written with the assistance of AI.
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