Fawlty Towers legend Prunella Scales has died aged 93, her sons have shared in a statement.
The actress was best known for her role as Sybil Fawlty, the domineering wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the iconic BBC sitcom.
Scales was watching Fawlty Towers the day before she died on Monday, according to her sons Samuel and Joseph West.
They said in a statement: ‘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.’
The statement to PA continued: ‘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.’
Fawlty Towers was short and sweet, running for two series with six episodes, but has been hailed as ‘the British sitcom by which all other British sitcoms must be judged’.
The show focused on a fictional hotel located in Torquay, Devon and won accolades including British Academy Television Award for Best Scripted Comedy.
After the sitcom came to end, Scales was a small screen regular with roles in A Question of Attribution, After Henry, Mapp and Lucia, Smelling of Roses and Ladies of Letters.
She also featured in many films, including Lord of Misrule, Emma, and Wolf.
She played Queen Victoria over 400 times on the stage in An Evening With Victoria.
Alongside her husband Timothy West, she presented ten series of Great Canal Journeys for Channel 4 from 2014 until 2020, in which the couple took charming trips on narrowboats across the UK and beyond.
Scales was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013 and the couple discussed her health on the travelogue show.
‘I’m unable to have the same in-depth conversation about stage productions with Pru that I used to enjoy. But we continue to do the things we have always done, as it’s important to continue to live,’ actor Timothy told the charity Alzheimer’s Society.
Writing in his memoir, Pru and Me, he said: ‘[We] have exactly the same conversation every day of the week and it’s something I never tire of.
‘Repetition doesn’t really exist in Pru’s world and the look on her face when she enters the room and sees me sitting there on the sofa waiting for her makes me realise just how much I love her.’
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