Prunella Scales
Sign in to savePrunella Margaret Rumney West, known professionally as Prunella Scales, was an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Sybil Fawlty in the BBC television sitcom Fawlty Towers (1975–1979) and her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in Alan Bennett's A Question of Attribution (1991), which earned her a BAFTA nomination. She later appeared in the TV documentary series Great Canal Journeys (2014–2019), travelling waterways in the UK and abroad with her husband, the actor Timothy West.
OverviewAI-generated
Prunella Scales was a British actor who worked in stage, film, and television. Born Margaret Prunella Rumney Illingworth in Abinger in 1932, she began her work period in 1952. She was educated at HB Studio and spoke English. Her notable works include *Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection*, *Witch of Blackberry Bottom*, *So You Want to Be an Actor?*, *Pongwiffy and the Pantomime*, and *The Girl from the Candle-Lit Bath*.
She was married to Timothy West and had two children, including Samuel West. Scales received the award of Commander of the Order of the British Empire. She died in London on October 27, 2025, after suffering from vascular dementia.
Synthesized by Vinony from 29 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
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Key facts
- Born
- Prunella Margaret Rumney Illingworth , ( 1932-06-22 ) 22 June 1932, Sutton Abinger , Surrey, England
- Died
- 27 October 2025 (2025-10-27) (aged 93), London, England
- Education
- Moira House School Old Vic Theatre School
- Occupation
- Actress
- Years active
- 1952–2023
- Television
- Fawlty Towers A Question of Attribution Great Canal Journeys After Henry
- Spouse
- Timothy West ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1963 ; died 2024 )
- Children
- 2, including Samuel West
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Margaret
- Gender
- female
- Citizenship
- United Kingdom
- Place of birth
- Abinger
- Place of death
- London
- Spouse
- Timothy West
- Child
- Samuel West
- Occupation
- television personality
- Educated at
- HB Studio
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Field of work
- acting
- Image
- Prunella Scales in 2010.JPG
- Number of children
- 2
- Work location
- England
Show 8 more facts
- Commons category
- Prunella Scales
- date of birth
- 1932-06-22
- medical condition
- vascular dementia
- start of work period
- 1952-00-00
- birth name
- Prunella Margaret Rumney Illingworth
- date of death
- 2025-10-27
- name in native language
- Prunella Scales
- described at URL
- baike.sogou.com/v142293032.htm
Sources (6)
via Wikidata · CC0
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Prunella Margaret Rumney West (née Illingworth; 22 June 1932 – 27 October 2025), known professionally as Prunella Scales, was an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Sybil Fawlty in the BBC television sitcom Fawlty Towers (1975–1979) and her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in Alan Bennett's A Question of Attribution (1991), which earned her a BAFTA nomination. She later appeared in the TV documentary series Great Canal Journeys (2014–2019), travelling waterways in the UK and abroad with her husband, the actor Timothy West.
Early life and education
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Prunella Scales” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.