Prunella Scales has died on the age of 93.
Prunella Scales has died aged 93
The Fawlty Towers actress handed away peacefully at her residence in London on Monday (27.10.25), her sons Samuel and Joseph stated.
A press release learn: “Our darling mom Prunella Scales died peacefully at residence in London yesterday. She was 93.
“Though dementia compelled her retirement from a outstanding performing profession of almost 70 years, she continued to reside at residence. She was watching Fawlty Towers the day earlier than she died. Pru was married to Timothy West for 61 years. He died in November 2024.
“She is survived by two sons and one stepdaughter, seven grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.
“We want to thank all those that gave Pru such fantastic care on the finish of her life: her final days had been snug, contented and surrounded by love.”
Prunella was greatest recognized for her position as Sybil Fawlty – the bossy spouse of John Cleese’s hapless resort proprietor Basil Fawlty – within the iconic Seventies BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers.
She was born in Surrey in 1932 and commenced her profession as an assistant stage supervisor for the Bristol Outdated Vic theatre earlier than making her mainstream breakthrough within the TV sitcom The Marriage Strains alongside Richard Briers within the early Nineteen Sixties.
Prunella additionally earned a BAFTA nomination for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in Alan Bennett’s play A Query of Attribution in 1991 and appeared in commercials for grocery store Tesco for a decade from 1995 because the demanding shopper Dotty.
She additionally had roles as a snobbish socialite within the Nineteen Eighties Channel 4 collection Mapp and Lucia and as widow Sarah France within the ITV sitcom After Henry between 1998 and 1992.
Scales met her husband Timothy West whist filming the BBC tv play She Died Younger in 1961 and the pair went on to behave collectively within the 1984 manufacturing Large In Brazil at London’s Outdated Vic theatre.
The star was recognized with vascular dementia in 2013 though she and Timothy went on to characteristic within the Channel 4 collection Nice Canal Journeys from 2014 to 2019 – which adopted the pair as they traveled by way of canals and narrowboats throughout the UK and Europe.
Prunella’s declining well being noticed the couple depart the present in 2019, with West – who died final November on the age of 90 – explaining that her dementia had worsened within the remaining collection and that she was shedding her listening to.
