Timothy West CBE FRSA
West in 2010
Born	Timothy Lancaster West (1934-10-20)20 October 1934 Bradford,West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died	12 November 2024(2024-11-12) (aged 90) Wandsworth,London, England
Education	TheJohn Lyon School Bristol Grammar School
Alma mater	Regent Street Polytechnic (now University of Westminster)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1956–2024
Spouses	Jacqueline Boyer ​ ​ (m. 1956; div. 1961)​ Prunella Scales ​ (m. 1963)​
Children	3, includingSamuel West
Parent	Lockwood West

Timothy Lancaster West (20 October 1934 – 12 November 2024) was an English actor with a long and varied career across theatre, film, and television. He began acting in repertory theatres in the 1950s before making his London stage debut in 1959 moving on to three seasons with theRoyal Shakespeare Company during the 1960s. West playedKing Lear (four times) andMacbeth (twice) along with other notable roles inThe Master Builder andUncle Vanya. In1978, West was nominated for theLaurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a Revival for his performance inThe Homecoming.^[1]

On screen, his breakout role was playing King Edward VII in the television seriesEdward the Seventh in 1975, earning him his first nomination for theBAFTA Award for Best Actor, with a second following in1980.^[2] West appeared in major films such asNicholas and Alexandra (1971),The Day of the Jackal (1973), andThe Thirty Nine Steps (1978). His television highlights includedBrass (1982–1990),Bedtime (2001–2003), andChurchill and the Generals for which he won aRoyal Television Society award in 1980.

As a director, West led productions at theForum Theatre in Melbourne, Australia and theOld Vic in London. He was also known for his collaborations with his second wife, actressPrunella Scales, in both acting and personal projects.

Timothy Lancaster West was born on 20 October 1934 inBradford,West Riding of Yorkshire, the only son of Olive (née Carleton-Crowe; 1902–1985) and actorLockwood West (1905–1989).^[3] He had a sister Patricia who was five years younger than him. He was educated at theJohn Lyon School,Harrow on the Hill, atBristol Grammar School,^[4] where he was a classmate ofJulian Glover, and at Regent Street Polytechnic (now theUniversity of Westminster).^[5]

West worked as an office furniture salesman and as a recording technician before becoming anassistant stage manager at theWimbledon Theatre in 1956.^[6]

West played repertory seasons inNewquay,Hull,Northampton,Worthing andSalisbury before making his London debut at thePiccadilly Theatre in 1959 in the farceCaught Napping. He was a member of theRoyal Shakespeare Company for three seasons: the 1962Arts Theatre Experimental season (Nil Carborundum andAfore Night Come), the 1964 'Dirty Plays' season (Victor, the premiere production ofMarat/Sade and the revival ofAfore Night Come) and the 1965 season atStratford and later at theAldwych Theatre appearing inThe Comedy of Errors,Timon of Athens,The Jew of Malta,Love's Labour's Lost andPeter Hall's production ofThe Government Inspector, in a company which includedPaul Scofield,Eric Porter,Janet Suzman,Paul Rogers,Ian Richardson,Glenda Jackson andPeter McEnery.^[7]

West played Macbeth twice, Uncle Vanya twice, Solness inThe Master Builder twice and King Lear four times: in 1971 (aged 36) for theProspect Theatre Company at theEdinburgh Festival; on a worldwide tour in 1991 inDublin for Second Age; in 2003 for theEnglish Touring Theatre, on tour in the UK and at theOld Vic; and in 2016 at theBristol Old Vic.^[8]

Having spent years as a familiar face who never quite became a household name, West's big break came with the major television seriesEdward the Seventh (1975), in which he played the title role from age 23 until the King's death;^[9] his real-life sons,Samuel and Joseph, played the sons of the King as children. His father,Lockwood West, also portrayedKing Edward VII in 1972 in an episode of theLWT television drama seriesUpstairs, Downstairs. Other screen appearances includedNicholas and Alexandra (1971),The Day of the Jackal (1973),The Thirty Nine Steps (1978),Masada (1981),Cry Freedom (1987) and Luc Besson'sThe Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). In Richard Eyre'sIris (2001) he played Maurice and his son Samuel West played Maurice as a young man.^[8]

West starred as patriarch Bradley Hardacre inGranada TV's satiricalNorthern super-soapBrass over three seasons (1982–1990). He appeared in the seriesMiss Marple in 1985 (in "A Pocket Full of Rye" as the notorious Rex Fortescue) and made an appearance as Professor Furie inA Very Peculiar Practice in 1986. In 1997, he played Gloucester in the BBC television production ofKing Lear, withIan Holm as Lear. From 2001 to 2003, he played the grumpy and frequently volatile Andrew in the BBC drama seriesBedtime.^[8]

In 1989, West played Nigel in the Thames Television sitcomAfter Henry alongside his real-life wife, Prunella Scales, who played Sarah France. They appeared together in the episode 'Upstagers', shown on 21 March 1989.^[8]

At Christmas 2007, he joinedNot Going Out as Geoffrey Adams. He reprised the role in two episodes of series three;Geoffrey Whitehead played the role in later seasons. In 2011, he appeared alongsideJohn Simm andJim Broadbent in the BBC seriesExile, written byBAFTA-winningDanny Brocklehurst.^[8]

In February 2013, West joined the cast of ITV soapCoronation Street, playingEric Babbage.^[10] He joined the cast ofEastEnders in 2013, playingStan Carter from January 2014.^[11] He filmed his final scenes forEastEnders in February 2015.^[8]

In 2019, West playedPrivate Godfrey inDad's Army: The Lost Episodes, a recreation of three missing episodes of theBBC comedyDad's Army.^[8]

His final acting role was in the penultimate episode of the BBC daytime seriesDoctors, which was screened the day after his death.^[12]

West was artistic director of the Forum Theatre,Billingham, in 1973,^[13] where he directedWe Bombed in New Haven byJoseph Heller,The Oz Obscenity Trial by David Livingstone andThe National Health byPeter Nichols. He was co-artistic director of theProspect Theatre Company at theOld Vic from 1980 to 1981,^[14] where he directedTrelawny of the 'Wells' andThe Merchant of Venice. He was director-in-residence at theUniversity of Western Australia in 1982.^[15]

In 2004, West toured Australia with theCarl Rosa Opera Company as director of a production ofH.M.S. Pinafore, also singing the role of Sir Joseph Porter.^[8]

From 1956 to 1961, West was married to actress Jacqueline Boyer, with whom he had a daughter, Juliet. In 1963 he married actressPrunella Scales, (d. 27 October 2025), with whom he had two sons, actorSamuel West and Joseph.^[16]

The Guardian crossword setterBiggles referred to West's 50th wedding anniversary in its prizecrossword puzzle (number 26,089) on 26 October 2013.^[17]

West and Scales were patrons of theLace Market Theatre inNottingham, The Kings Theatre inGloucester and of theConway Hall Sunday Concerts^[18] programme in London, the longest-running series of chamber music concerts in Europe. West was an Ambassador of SOS Children's Villages,^[19] an international orphan charity providing homes and mothers for orphaned and abandoned children. He supported the charity's annualWorld Orphan Week.^[20]

West was patron of theNational Piers Society,^[21] a charity dedicated to preserving and promoting seaside piers. He and Prunella Scales were patrons of Avon Navigation Trust (ANT), the charity that runs the River Avon fromStratford-upon-Avon toTewkesbury. They both supported ANT by attending the Stratford River Festival every year.^[22] West supportedCancer Research UK.^[23]

West was a Patron ofKids for Kids,^[24] helping children living in remote villages ofDarfur,Sudan through sustainable projects. He and his wife supported Kids for Kids for many years and he continued to be a Reader at the annual Candlelit Christmas Concert at St Peter’sEaton Square where he always chose something he knew the children would love.

West was a supporter of theTalyllyn Railway in mid Wales, the first preserved railway in the world. He visited on a number of occasions, the last being the summer of 2015 to attend the railway's 150th anniversary.^[25] He was a patron of theInland Waterways Association.^[3]

West was president of theLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (being succeeded byBenedict Cumberbatch in January 2018) and was president of the Society for Theatre Research. He was also patron of London-based drama schoolAssociated Studios.^[26]

After a fall, West's health declined throughout his final months, and he died at a care home inWandsworth on 12 November 2024, aged 90. His wife of 61 years, Prunella Scales, died almost a year later^[12][27][28]

In 1984, West was appointedCBE for his services to drama.^[29] He was accepted as a fellow to theRoyal Society of Arts in 1992.^[30]

During his life, West was awarded eight honorary doctorates:University of Bradford (1993),University of the West of England (1994),University of East Anglia (1996),University of Westminster (1999),University of London (2004),University of Hull (2004),Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (2004), andUniversity of Kent (2018)^[30] He also received an honorary degree from theUniversity of Bristol in 2017.^[31]

Timothy West was a member of the BBC Radio Drama Repertory Company in 1962^[151] and took part in over 500 radio broadcasts.^[8] In 1959, he wrote and produced a short audio play,This Gun That I Have in My Right Hand Is Loaded, satirising typical mistakes of radio drama, including over-explanatory dialogue and misuse of sound cues.^[152][153]

Timothy West recorded many unabridged audiobooks, including the completeBarchester Chronicles and the completePalliser novels by Anthony Trollope, and seven ofGeorge MacDonald Fraser'sThe Flashman Papers books. He received fourAudioFile Earphones Awards for his narration.^[177]

• I'm Here I Think, Where Are You? Letters from a Touring Actor, 1994,ISBN 978-1-85459-222-4.
• A Moment Towards the End of the Play (autobiography), 2001,ISBN 978-1-85459-619-2.
• So You Want to Be an Actor (withPrunella Scales), 2005,ISBN 978-1-85459-879-0.
• Great Canal Journeys: A Lifetime of Memories on Britain's Most Beautiful Waterways, 2017,ISBN 978-1-78606-511-7.
• Pru and Me: The Amazing Marriage of Prunella Scales and Timothy West, 2023,ISBN 978-0241629550.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toTimothy West.

• LAMDA Biography
• Timothy West at Gavin Barker Associates (agent)
• Timothy West atIMDb
• Timothy West at theBFI'sScreenonline
• Timothy West discography atDiscogs

• 1934 births
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