Beloved British actress Prunella Scales has passed away at the age of 93, the BBC have reported.
Having been diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2014, her sons Samuel and Joseph said, the actress died “peacefully at home in London yesterday” (Monday, October 27).
Scales was married to fellow British actor Timothy West for 61 years from 1963 until his passing in 2024. His health had steadily declined in his final months after he suffered a fall, and he died at a care home in Wandsworth, South London, on November 12 last year at the age of 90.
Alongside her husband, Scales presented ‘Great Canal Journeys,’ which saw the couple taking canal barge and narrowboat trips through destinations in the United Kingdom, Europe, India, and Egypt.
Scales Was Best Known for Playing Sybil Fawlty in ‘Fawlty Towers’
BBC.Prunella Scales enjoyed a near 70-year career in which she played countless roles on stage and the big and small screens. However, she is undoubtedly most well known for playing Sybil Fawlty, the bossy wife of John Cleese’s Basil Fawlty in the iconic BBC sitcom ‘Fawlty Towers.’
Per IMDb, Scales’ other notable roles on television include her breakthrough role as Kate Starling in another sitcom, ‘Marriage Lines,’ opposite Richard Briers, playing Martha in ‘The Secret Garden,’ playing Eileen Hughes in ‘Coronation Street,’ playing Dolly in ‘Mr. Big,’ and playing Sarah France in ‘After Henry.’
On the big screen, Scales movie credits include 1978’s comedy version of ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles,’ 1978’s thriller ‘The Boys from Brazil,’ 1992’s historical romantic drama ‘Howard’s End,’ 2003’s action comedy ‘Johnny English,’ and 2011’s family comedy ‘Horrid Henry: The Movie.’
Scale’s stage credits include ‘The Winter’s Tale,’ ‘A Woman of No Importance,’ ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost,’ ‘Measure for Measure,’ and ‘The Matchmaker’ on Broadway.
She received numerous awards and honors in her lifetime. For instance, in 1999, Scales was awarded the Freedom of the City of London, and she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s 1992 Birthday Honours List.
Fan Tributes Have Poured in for Prunella Scales
Getty.Fan tributes have poured in from all over the world, most notably on X, where there are hundreds of posts honoring Scales.
One X user wrote, “Remembering Prunella Scales, not just for the mighty Sybil, but her many other roles. One of my favourites was her as Alan Turing’s mother, opposite Derek Jacobi in Breaking The Code.”
Another said, “The wonderful Prunella Scales has left us. What an extraordinary woman she was. A great age but what a sad loss.”
Someone else commented, “How very sad to hear of the passing of Prunella Scales. A wonderful actress who brought us the unforgettable Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, a character that became woven into British comedy history, and, in later years, touched our hearts alongside her husband Timothy West in Great Canal Journeys. Her talent, wit and grace spanned generations and brought joy to millions. A remarkable life and legacy. May she rest in peace.”
Finally, one user simply wrote, “RIP Prunella Scales. She can be reunited with her husband Tim West now.”
Our deep condolences to Prunella Scales’ family and friends. May she rest in eternal peace.
The post Beloved ‘Fawlty Towers’ & ‘Howard’s End’ Star Passes Away, Fan Tributes Pour In appeared first on EntertainmentNow.