British actress Prunella Scales, beloved for her iconic role as Sybil Fawlty in the classic sitcom Fawlty Towers, has died at the age of 93, her family announced on Tuesday.
According to a statement from her sons, Samuel and Joseph, Scales passed away “peacefully at home in London” on Monday. “She was watching Fawlty Towers the day before she died,” they revealed, adding that her final days were “comfortable, contented and surrounded by love.”
Diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013, Scales continued to work for several years, often alongside her husband, acclaimed actor Timothy West. The couple, who were married for 61 years until West’s death in November 2024, captured viewers’ hearts with their travel documentary series Great Canal Journeys on Channel 4.
Scales’s career spanned nearly seven decades, but it was her portrayal of the sharp-tongued yet endearing Sybil Fawlty — the long-suffering wife of John Cleese’s bumbling hotel owner Basil — that secured her place in British comedy history. The Bafta-winning Fawlty Towers, created by Cleese and his then-wife Connie Booth, ran for only two series between 1975 and 1979, yet remains one of the UK’s most celebrated sitcoms.
Paying tribute, Cleese described Scales as “a really wonderful comic actress” and said he had been “very, very fond” of her. “Scene after scene she was absolutely perfect,” he added. Downing Street also joined in the tributes, with the prime minister’s spokesman praising her as “part of the golden era of British comedy.”
Beyond comedy, Scales portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in the film A Question of Attribution and also performed a one-woman stage show, An Evening With Queen Victoria. Her versatility made her one of Britain’s most respected and admired actresses.
She is survived by her sons, a stepdaughter, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren — a remarkable legacy from a performer whose wit and warmth defined generations of British television.
