Acting
Prunella Scales
Born Jun 22, 1932 · Sutton Abinger, Surrey, England, UK · Died Oct 27, 2025
Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales CBE (née Illingworth; 22 June 1932) was an English former actor, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy Fawlty Towers; for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in A Question of Attribution (Screen One, BBC 1991) by Alan Bennett (for which she was nominated for a BAFTA award); and for the documentary series Great Canal Journeys (2014–2021), in which she travels on canal barges and narrowboats with her husband, fellow actor Timothy West.
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Acting
The Cancellation Of Fawlty Towers
2025
Comedy · Documentary
50 Years of BBC Two Comedy
2014
Documentary · TV Movie
Sub Rosa
2014
The Phone Call
2013
Drama
Run For Your Wife
2012
Comedy
Horrid Henry: The Movie
2011
Family · Comedy · Adventure
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
2009
Documentary · Comedy
The Shell Seekers
2007
Drama · Romance
What the Pythons Did Next...
2007
Mr. Loveday's Little Outing
2006
Comedy · Drama
Fawlty Towers Revisited
2005
Documentary · TV Movie
Agatha Christie's Marple
2004
Drama · Crime · Mystery
The Royal
2003
Drama
Dickens
2002
Documentary · Drama
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
2002
TV Movie · Drama
Station Jim
2001
Drama · Romance · Family
The Ghost of Greville Lodge
2000
Mystery · Fantasy · Family
Mad Cows
1999
Comedy
An Ideal Husband
1999
Comedy
Stiff Upper Lips
1998
Comedy
Keeping Mum
1997
Comedy · Family
An Audience with Alf Garnett
1997
Comedy
Midsomer Murders
1997
Crime · Drama · Mystery
Emma
1996
Comedy · Drama · Romance
Breaking the Code
1996
History · Drama · TV Movie
Dennis the Menace and Gnasher
1996
Animation
Dalziel and Pascoe
1996
Mystery · Crime · Drama
Silent Witness
1996
Crime · Drama
The World of Lee Evans
1995
Comedy
An Awfully Big Adventure
1995
Romance · Drama · Comedy
Signs and Wonders
1995
Drama
Second Best
1994
Drama · Family
Wolf
1994
Horror · Drama · Romance
Fair Game
1994
Drama · TV Movie
The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends: The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and Mr. Jeremy Fisher
1994
Animation · Comedy · Fantasy
The Rector's Wife
1994
Drama
Freddie As F.R.O.7.
1992
Animation · Adventure · Family
My Friend Walter
1992
Adventure · Family · Fantasy
Howards End
1992
Drama · Romance
A Question of Attribution
1991
Drama · TV Movie
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson
1990
Family
Dirty Beasts
1990
Family · Animation
Revolting Rhymes
1990
Family · Animation
Screen One
1989
Drama
Beyond The Pale
1989
Drama · TV Movie
A Chorus of Disapproval
1989
Drama · Comedy · Romance
Bosses From Hell
1989
Communicators From Hell
1989
Natural Causes
1988
TV Movie · Comedy
Consuming Passions
1988
Comedy
After Henry
1988
Comedy
When We Are Married
1987
Comedy
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
1987
Drama · Romance
What the Butler Saw
1987
Home Cooking
1986
Drama · TV Movie
Unnatural Causes
1986
Mystery · Crime · Drama
Casualty
1986
Drama · Soap
ScreenPlay
1986
Drama
Theatre Night
1985
Drama
Mapp & Lucia
1985
Comedy
Absurd Person Singular
1985
Comedy · Drama · TV Movie
Slimming Down
1984
Comedy
The Wicked Lady
1983
Drama · Adventure
The Merry Wives of Windsor
1982
Comedy · TV Movie
Outside Edge
1982
Comedy
Bergerac
1981
Drama
Never the Twain
1981
Comedy
Doris and Doreen
1978
Drama · Comedy · TV Movie
The BBC Television Shakespeare
1978
Drama · Comedy
The Boys from Brazil
1978
Drama · Mystery · Science Fiction
The Hound of the Baskervilles
1978
Comedy · Crime · Mystery
Pickersgill People
1978
Comedy
Target
1977
Drama · Crime
The Achurch Letters
1977
The Littlest Horse Thieves
1976
Family · Drama
Fawlty Towers
1975
Comedy
Playhouse
1974
Drama
Seven of One
1973
Comedy
Country Matters
1972
Drama
BBC Play of the Month
1965
Drama
Thirty-Minute Theatre
1965
Drama
Waltz of the Toreadors
1962
Comedy
Marriage Lines
1961
Comedy
Room at the Top
1958
Drama · Romance
The Crowded Day
1954
Drama · Comedy
What Every Woman Wants
1954
Drama
Hobson's Choice
1954
Comedy · Drama · Romance
Pride and Prejudice
1952
Drama · Comedy