Prunella Scales | |
|---|---|
 Scales pictured in 2010 | |
| Born | Prunella Margaret Rumney Illingworth (1932-06-22)22 June 1932 (age 92) Sutton Abinger,Surrey, England |
| Education | Moira House Girls' School,Eastbourne;The Old Vic School;Ute Hagen, New York |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1952–2020 |
| Television | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingSamuel West |
Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales[1][2] (néeIllingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English retired actress.[3] She portrayedSybil Fawlty, the bossy wife ofBasil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedyFawlty Towers andQueen Elizabeth II inAlan Bennett'sA Question of Attribution (Screen One, BBC 1991), for which she was nominated for aBritish Academy Television Award.[4] She was also twice nominated at theLaurence Olivier Awards, in1980 forMake and Break and in1990 forSingle Spies.[5][6] Additionally, she appeared in the documentary seriesGreat Canal Journeys (2014–2021), travelling onnarrowboats with her husband and fellow actorTimothy West.
Scales was born inSutton Abinger,Surrey, the daughter of John Richardson Illingworth, a cotton salesman who served as a lieutenant with theWiltshire Regiment in theFirst World War,[7] and with theAuxiliary Military Pioneer Corps in theSecond World War,[8][9] and Catherine, née Scales, known as "Bim", an actress who had for a time attended theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Arts and was later with theLiverpool Playhouse's Repertory Company.[10][11][12][13] Scales had a younger brother, Timothy "Timmo" Illingworth (1934–2017), who became a lieutenant colonel in theRoyal Irish Rangers and wasappointed anOBE.[14][15] In 1939, at the start of theSecond World War, Scales's parents moved with their children to Bucks Mills nearBideford inDevon. In 1942, Scales was awarded a scholarship toMoira House School which had been evacuated fromEastbourne to a hotel on LakeWindermere in the Lake DistrictCumbria; her mother and brother accompanied her. Scales carried on her schooling when Moira House returned to Eastbourne.[16] She was awarded a scholarship for the two year course at theOld Vic Theatre School in 1949; Moira House School had wished her to apply toOxbridge.[17]
Scales started her career in 1951 as an assistant stage manager at theBristol Old Vic, but has stated that she has always wanted to be an actor.[18] Throughout her career, she has often been cast in comic roles. Her early work included the (now believed to be lost)second UK adaptation ofPride and Prejudice (1952),Laxdale Hall (1953),Hobson's Choice (1954),The Matchmaker onBroadway (1955),Room at the Top (1959) andWaltz of the Toreadors (1962).
Her career break came with the early 1960s sitcomMarriage Lines starring oppositeRichard Briers. She played her most famous role, Sybil Fawlty in the sitcomFawlty Towers, over two series in 1975 and 1979. In addition to this, she has had roles inBBC Radio 4sitcoms, and comedy series includingAfter Henry,Smelling of Roses andLadies of Letters; on television she starred in theLondon Weekend Television/Channel 4 seriesMapp & Lucia based on the novels byE. F. Benson.
In 1973, Scales was cast withRonnie Barker inOne Man's Meat which formed part of Barker'sSeven of One series, also for the BBC. Her later film appearances includeEscape from the Dark (1976),The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978),The Boys From Brazil (1978),The Wicked Lady (1983),The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987),Consuming Passions (1988),A Chorus of Disapproval (1989),Howards End (1992),Wolf (1994),An Awfully Big Adventure (1995) andStiff Upper Lips (1997). For theBBC Television Shakespeare production ofThe Merry Wives of Windsor (1982) she played Mistress Page and in theTheatre Night series (BBC) she appeared with her husbandTimothy West in theJoe Orton farceWhat the Butler Saw (1987) playing Mrs Prentice.
For 10 years,[19] Scales appeared as "Dotty" Turnbull, together withJane Horrocks as her character's daughter, Kate Neall, in advertisements for UK supermarket chainTesco.[20] She playedQueen Elizabeth II inAlan Bennett'sA Question of Attribution (1991).[21]In 1996, Scales starred in the television filmLord of Misrule, alongsideRichard Wilson,Emily Mortimer andStephen Moyer. The film was directed by Guy Jenkins and filming took place inFowey inCornwall. The same year, she appeared asMiss Bates inEmma, a TV-movie adaptation ofJane Austen'snovel of the same name. In 1997, Scales starred in Chris Barfoot'sscience-fiction filmshortPhoenix which was first aired in 1999 byNBCUniversal'sSci-Fi Channel.[22] Scales played The Client, an evil government minister funding inter-genetic time travel experiments. The same year, she played Minny Stinkler in the comedy filmMad Cows, directed bySara Sugarman. In 1993, Scales voiced Mrs Tiggy-Winkle inThe World of Peter Rabbit and Friends.
In 2000, Scales appeared in the filmThe Ghost of Greville Lodge as Sarah. The same year, she appeared as Eleanor Bunsall inMidsomer Murders' "Beyond the Grave". In 2001, she appeared in two episodes ofSilent Witness' "Faith" as Mrs Parker. In 2003, she appeared as Hilda, "she who must be obeyed", wife ofHorace Rumpole, in four BBC Radio 4 plays, with Timothy West playing her fictional husband. Scales and West toured Australia at the same time in different productions. Scales appeared in a one-woman show calledAn Evening withQueen Victoria, which also featured the tenorIan Partridge singing songs written byPrince Albert. Scales has performedAn Evening with Queen Victoria more than 400 times, in theatres around the world, over the course of 30 years.[23]
Scales voiced the speaking ("cawing") role of Magpie, the eponymous thief in a 2003 recording ofGioachino Rossini's operaLa gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie).
In 2006, Scales appeared alongsideAcademy Award winnersVanessa Redgrave andMaximilian Schell in the mini-seriesThe Shell Seekers.
On 16 November 2007, Scales appeared inChildren in Need, reprising her role asSybil Fawlty, the new manager who wants to take overHotel Babylon.John Cleese said in an interview on 8 May 2009 that the role of Sybil Fawlty was originally offered toBridget Turner, who turned down the part, claiming "it wasn't right for her".[citation needed]
Scales appeared in the audio playThe Youth of Old Age, produced in 2008 by theWireless Theatre Company, and available to download free of charge on their website.[24] In 2008, she appeared inAgatha Christie'sMiss Marple "A Pocket Full of Rye" as Mrs Mackenzie.
Scales appeared in a production ofCarrie's War, theNina Bawden novel, at theWest EndApollo Theatre in 2009.[25] The run was successful despite middling reviews. However, Ben Bradley, writing forThe New York Times Arts & Beats, stated that Scales was the most memorable thing about the show, "[playing] a rich, Miss Havisham-like eccentric, who trails through her house in evening gowns".[26]
Scales starred in the 2011 British live-action3D family comedy filmHorrid Henry: The Movie as the titular character's Great Aunt Greta.[21] She appeared in a short audio story,Dandruff Hits the Turtleneck, written by John Mayfield, and available for download.[27] Scales starred in a short film called "Stranger Danger" alongside Roderick Cowie in 2012.[28] In 2013 she made a guest appearance in the popular BBC radio comedyCabin Pressure as Wendy Crieff, the mother of Captain Martin Crieff.
Alongside her husband, Scales appeared inGreat Canal Journeys for Channel 4 from 2014 for 10 series, before her deteriorating health brought her television career to an end. Stuart Heritage, writing forThe Guardian in November 2016, commented that it "is ultimately a work about a devoted couple facing something huge together. It's a beautiful, meditative programme".[29] "An emotional but unrooted glimpse of life with dementia" was Christopher Howse's characterization in October 2018, writing forThe Telegraph.[30] Reviewing Scales's and West's last episode in October 2019 forThe Guardian, Jack Seale wrote "Since the first instalment in 2014, the series has charted the long, slow goodbye that is living with dementia, cherishing every moment of precious normality and celebrating how an immersion in nature is the surest way to bring the old Pru back."[31]
In 1992, Scales appeared on BBC Radio 4'sDesert Island Discs, a programme where guests are asked to decide which one book, luxury item, and eight audio recordings they would want with them should they be stranded on a deserted island. Her chosen books were theComplete Works of Shakespeare inGerman, theBible inRussian and a Russian dictionary; her luxury item was "a hugetapestry kit".[32]
Her biography,Prunella, written by Teresa Ransom, was published by UK publishing imprintJohn Murray in 2005.[33]
In 2005, Scales named theP&O cruise shipArtemis.[34]
A rose-breeder created a rose,Prunella, in her honour.[35]
Scales is a patron of theLace Market Theatre inNottingham.[36]
Scales was married to the actorTimothy West from 1963 until his death in 2024. They had two sons; the elder is actor and directorSamuel West. Their younger son Joseph (Joe) participated in two episodes ofGreat Canal Journeys, filmed in France. Scales also has a step-daughter, by West's first marriage.
From 1997 until 2002, Scales was president ofCPRE, at that time known as the Council for the Protection of Rural England.[37]
Scales's husband first noticed that she was having minor difficulties when she was performing in a play in 2001. She was eventually diagnosed withvascular dementia in 2014. The diagnosis did not prevent her from taking part inGreat Canal Journeys, in which she and her husband spoke openly about her illness.[38] Her declining health led the couple to leave the series in 2019.[39] Interviewed for the BBC in 2023, soon after celebrating their diamondwedding anniversary, West said, with reference to Scales's dementia: "Somehow we have coped with it and Pru doesn't really think about it."[38]
In 1999, Scales was awarded theFreedom of the City of London. She was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire in the1992 Birthday Honours List; her husband had received the same honour in the1984 Birthday Honours List. In 1999, she was awarded aD.Litt. honorary degree by theUniversity of Bradford and, in 2000, by theUniversity of East Anglia.[37]
"I'm an actor," she says
| Non-profit organization positions | ||
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| Preceded by | President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England 1997–2002 | Succeeded by |