Actress Prunella Scales, best known for her role as Sybil in Fawlty Towers, has died aged 93. The much-loved actress was married to her husband - and fellow actor - Timothy West for six decades before his death last November.
Prunella's children revealed that the actress was watching her hit show Fawlty Towers the day before she died. In a statement, her family said: "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." Pru was married to Timothy West for 61 years and she is survived by two sons and one stepdaughter, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
The statement added: "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."
Prunella was best known for her role as Sybil, the long-suffering wife of Basil Fawlty in TV series Fawlty Towers, where she starred alongside John Cleese. She also had starring roles as the royals, playing Queen Elizabeth II in A Question Of Attribution and she appeared in an one-woman show called, An Evening With Queen Victoria.
Prunella was born in June 1932 and her early work included starring in Pride And Prejudice (1952) and Hobson’s Choice (1954). Her career break came with the early 1960s sitcom Marriage Lines starring opposite Richard Briers.
She also had roles in BBC Radio 4 sitcoms, notably After Henry, Smelling Of Roses and Ladies Of Letters, while on television she starred in the London Weekend/Channel 4 series Mapp & Lucia based on the novels by EF Benson.
She played Queen Elizabeth II in Alan Bennett’s A Question of Attribution. And in 1973, Scales teamed up with Ronnie Barker in the series called Seven Of One, also for the BBC.
After several film appearances, in 2003 Scales appeared as Hilda, the “she who must be obeyed”, wife of Horace Rumpole in four BBC Radio 4 plays, with her real-life husband, Timothy West, playing her fictional husband.
In 2007, Prunella appeared in Children in Need, reprising her role as Sybil Fawlty, the new manager who wants to take over Hotel Babylon. She appeared 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.
Prunella was a lifelong supporter of the Labour Party and appeared on their party political broadcasts during the 2005 and 2010 general election campaigns. She was an ambassador of SOS Children’s Villages, an international charity providing homes and mothers for orphaned and abandoned children.
Prunella married West in 1963, and had two sons; the elder being the actor and director Samuel West, and a stepdaughter, Juliet.
Actor John Cleese has described his on-screen wife and Fawlty Towers co-star Prunella Scales as “a really wonderful comic actress,” adding: “Scene after scene she was absolutely perfect.”
Jon Petrie, director of comedy at the BBC, paid tribute to Prunella. He said: "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, interim chief executive officer for Alzheimer’s Society, praise Prunella for "shining an important light on the UK’s biggest killer". She said: “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 remembered Prunella as “a funny, intelligent, interesting, gifted human being”. Alongside some photos, he wrote on X: "This is a snap I took last year of Prunella Scales with Queen Camilla at Lamb House in Rye – we were celebrating Mapp & Lucia in which Pru had starred. What a wonderful actress: what a funny, intelligent, interesting, gifted human being."
The Prime Minister also paid tribute. Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said: “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 revealed her short term memory was fading. A year later her husband confirmed that Prunella was living with Alzheimer’s disease. Speaking openly 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 appeared 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 died in November 2024 after a "long and extraordinary life on and off the stage". In a statement released at the time of his death, his family said he left "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 added.
At the time of his death, their son Samuel revealed that his mother was not well enough to process Timothy's death. He said: "All I am going to say is she's not really well enough to take it all in."
In one of their final interviews together, Prunella spoke of their bond: "I have got to know him better and better and better." Timothy then added: "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 then chimed in to say: "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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