Copyright manchestereveningnews
Fawlty Towers actress Prunella Scales died at her home on Monday (October 27) aged 93, in a statement confirmed by her two sons Samuel and Joseph West. The statement to the PA news agency read: "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. He died in November 2024. She is survived by two sons and one stepdaughter, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. "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 had been diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013. In his memoir Pru And Me: A Love Story, Prunella’s husband Timothy West, who died in November 2024, spoke about when he began to worry about his wife’s health. He penned: "It wasn’t until 2013 that Pru was actually diagnosed with vascular dementia. I don’t recall us being pushed towards any specific treatment or support. "Now I feel that, if we had been, it may have helped us. But, at the time, it was very much 'carry on and deal with it as best you can'." On Tuesday night (October 28), there will be a change to the BBC schedule as the broadcaster will air an episode of Fawlty Towers tonight as a tribute to the actress. The episode, titled The Builders is the second episode from the first series and originally aired on the BBC on September 26 1975, the BBC said. It sees hotelier Basil, played by John Cleese, and his wife Sybil, played by Scales, decide to have “structural work” done on the hotel while they go away for the weekend. It will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 8pm and then will be available to watch on iPlayer for 30 days following transmission. Prunella played the character of Sybil for the entire run of the show, from 1975 to 1979, and she appeared in all 12 episodes of both series, the BBC said. Praising his on-screen wife, John Cleese told PA: "How very sad. Pru was a really wonderful comic actress. I’ve recently been watching a number of clips of Fawlty Towers whilst researching a book. Scene after scene she was absolutely perfect." He added: "She was a very sweet lady, who spent a lot of her life apologising. I used to tease her about it. I was very, very fond of her."
