Prunella Scales, the actress best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, the intimidating hotel manager wife of John Cleese‘s Basil on the iconic ’70s British sitcom “Fawlty Towers,” died on Monday. She was 93.
Her sons, Samuel and Joseph West, confirmed her death to news agency PA Media on Tuesday, saying Scales died “peacefully at home in London yesterday.” She was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013.
“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,” the statement continued. “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.”
Beyond her performance in “Fawlty Towers,” which ran on BBC Two from 1975 to 1979, Scales earned a BAFTA nomination for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in Alan Bennett’s 1991 televised play “A Question of Attribution.” From 2014 to 2020, she co-hosted the docuseries “Great Canal Journeys” alongside her husband, the late actor Timothy West, in which they explored Britain’s waterways.
In a statement to BBC News, Cleese remembered his “Fawlty Towers” co-star: “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. She was a very sweet lady, who spent a lot of her life apologizing. I used to tease her about it. I was very, very fond of her.”
Scales began her career in 1951 as an assistant stage manager at the Bristol Old Vic and began acting in plays and small films in the ’50s and early ’60s. She earned her first big break starring in the sitcom “Marriage Lines” alongside Richard Briers from 1963 to 1966, and then rose to prominence when she was cast as Sybil Fawlty in “Fawlty Towers” in the mid ’70s. Her other credits include the series “Mapp & Lucia” from 1985-1986, and films including “The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne” (1987), “Howards End” (1992), “Wolf” (1994) and “An Awfully Big Adventure” (1995).
In addition to her sons, Scales is survived by one stepdaughter, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by West, her husband of 61 years, who died in November 2024.
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From Variety US