Prunella Scales, best known for her role as Sybil in Fawlty Towers, has died at the age of 93. The actress was married to her husband Timothy West for 61 years before his death last November
Prunella Scales, the beloved actress best known for her role as Sybil in Fawlty Towers, has passed away at the age of 93. The renowned actress was married to fellow actor Timothy West for six decades before his passing last November.
The day before her death, Prunella was watching her hit show Fawlty Towers, her children revealed. Her family released a statement saying: “Our darling mother Prunella Scales died peacefully at home in London yesterday. She was 93. Although dementia forced her retirement from a remarkable acting career of nearly 70 years, she continued to live at home.
“She was watching Fawlty Towers the day before she died.”
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Pru was married to Timothy West for 61 years and is survived by two sons, one stepdaughter, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
The family’s statement also expressed gratitude to those who cared for Prunella in her final days: “We would like to thank all those who gave Pru such wonderful care at the end of her life: her last days were comfortable, contented and surrounded by love.”, reports the Mirror.
Prunella was most recognized for her role as Sybil, Basil Fawlty’s long-suffering wife in the TV series Fawlty Towers, where she starred alongside John Cleese. She also had prominent roles portraying royals, including Queen Elizabeth II in A Question Of Attribution and a one-woman show titled, An Evening With Queen Victoria.
Prunella was born in June 1932 and kick-started her career with roles in Pride And Prejudice (1952) and Hobson’s Choice (1954). Her big break came when she starred opposite Richard Briers in the early 1960s sitcom Marriage Lines.
She also lent her talents to BBC Radio 4 sitcoms, notably After Henry, Smelling Of Roses and Ladies Of Letters. On television, she shone in the London Weekend/Channel 4 series Mapp and Lucia, based on the novels by EF Benson.
She portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in Alan Bennett’s A Question of Attribution. In 1973, Scales joined forces with Ronnie Barker in the series Seven Of One for the BBC.
After several film appearances, in 2003 Scales took on the role of Hilda, the “she who must be obeyed”, wife of Horace Rumpole in four BBC Radio 4 plays. Her real-life husband, Timothy West, played her fictional spouse.
In 2007, Prunella reprised her role as Sybil Fawlty, the new manager aiming to take over Hotel Babylon, for Children in Need. She featured in the audio play The Youth of Old Age, produced in 2008, and also in a production of Carrie’s War, the Nina Bawden novel, at the Apollo Theatre in 2009.
A lifelong supporter of the Labour Party, Prunella appeared in their party political broadcasts during the 2005 and 2010 general election campaigns. She served as an ambassador for SOS Children’s Villages, an international charity providing homes and mothers for orphaned and abandoned children.
Prunella tied the knot with West in 1963 and they had two sons, including actor and director Samuel West, as well as a stepdaughter, Juliet.
John Cleese, her on-screen husband and co-star from Fawlty Towers, praised Prunella as “a really wonderful comic actress,” adding: “Scene after scene she was absolutely perfect.”
Jon Petrie, the BBC’s comedy director, expressed his condolences, saying: “All of us at BBC Comedy are so sorry to hear of Prunella Scales’ passing. She was a national treasure whose brilliance as Sybil Fawlty lit up screens and still makes us laugh today. We send our love and condolences to her family and friends.”
Corinne Mills, the interim CEO for Alzheimer’s Society, commended Prunella for “shining an important light on the UK’s biggest killer”. She stated: “We are deeply saddened by the news that Prunella Scales – a true British icon – has died.
“Prunella was an inspiration not just for her achievements on screen, but because she spoke so openly about living with dementia, shining an important light on the UK’s biggest killer. We are profoundly grateful for the awareness she helped to raise and send our heartfelt condolences to her loved ones. Alzheimer’s Society is here for anyone affected by dementia.”
Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth fondly remembered Prunella as “a funny, intelligent, interesting, gifted human being”. Sharing some photos on X, he wrote: “This is a snap I took last year of Prunella Scales with Queen Camilla at Lamb House in Rye – we were celebrating Mapp and Lucia in which Pru had starred. What a wonderful actress: what a funny, intelligent, interesting, gifted human being.”
The Prime Minister also expressed his condolences. Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman stated: “Clearly Prunella Scales was part of a golden era for British comedy, someone whose talent was beamed into people’s homes over many years and gave many people a huge amount of enjoyment. The Prime Minister, of course, passes all his condolences to her family.”
In January 2013, she disclosed that her short-term memory was deteriorating. A year later, her husband confirmed that Prunella was living with Alzheimer’s disease.
Speaking candidly about her health, he said: “The sad thing is that you just watch the gradual disappearance of the person that you knew and loved and were very close to.
“When we’ve been to a concert, or a play, or a film, there’s nothing very much we can say about it afterwards because Pru will have a fairly hazy memory.”
The couple starred together in 10 series of Great Canal Journeys for Channel 4 from 2014 until they stopped in 2020, due to Prunella’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Timothy passed away in November 2024 after a “long and extraordinary life on and off the stage”. His family released a statement at the time of his death, stating he left behind “a sister, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren”.
“All of us will miss him terribly. We would like to thank the incredible NHS staff at St George’s Hospital, Tooting and at Avery Wandsworth for their loving care during his last days,” they expressed.
Their son Samuel disclosed that his mother was not well enough to process Timothy’s death at the time. He shared: “All I am going to say is she’s not really well enough to take it all in.”
In one of their last interviews together, Prunella spoke about their connection: “I have got to know him better and better and better.”
Timothy then chimed in: “I know that things are going to change a little bit, but it has been a long time and we have managed pretty well really. I don’t think we ever think ‘Oh no.'”.
Prunella added her thoughts: “I have been asked to live the rest of my life with somebody I respect very much and agree with a lot of things and argue with about a lot of things quite happily.”
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.themirror.com ’
