Prunella Scales through the years – her greatest roles and archival imagery

Scales was beloved for roles in Fawlty Towers and After Henry, among others.

Actress Prunella Scales in a scene from episode 'Gourmet Night' of the BBC television sitcom Fawlty Towers on September 6th 1975

Don Smith/Radio Times via Getty Images

Published: Tuesday, 28 October 2025 at 12:16 pm

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Prunella Scales has died at the age of 93, leaving fans wistfully looking back at the illustrious career of a great name in British comedy.

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Scales was most widely associated with her role in the legendary BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers, where she played Sybil, co-manager of the Devon hotel alongside frantic husband Basil (John Cleese).

The series is commonly regarded as one of the greatest British sitcoms of all time, running for a mere 12 episodes between 1975 and 1979.

Scales would achieve further success in the genre with After Henry, which began life as a BBC Radio 4 play, before being picked up as a television series on ITV.

READ MORE: Prunella Scales on her marriage to Timothy West, Fawlty Towers and why TV sitcoms were her "least favourite form of work"

There, she played 40-something widow Sarah France, who shares a house with her mother Eleanor (Joan Sanderson) and 18-year-old daughter Clare (Janine Wood) in the aftermath of her husband's death.

The radio version began in 1985, with the TV series premiering towards the end of its run, before concluding itself in 1992.

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In 1988, Scales portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in Alan Bennett's stage play A Question of Attribution and reprised the role in a BBC TV version three years later.

She would find success as another monarch on stage while touring her one-woman show An Evening with Queen Victoria, which she performed 400 times between 1979 and 2007.

Just last year, Scales recorded audio as Queen Victoria for an Edinburgh Fringe reimagining of the production by Julian Machin (via The Guardian).

Scales was introduced to a new generation as Great Aunt Greta in 2011's Horrid Henry: The Movie, and between 2014 and 2019 hosted More4's Great Canal Journeys alongside her husband, Timothy West, who passed away last year.

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Here are some highlights from the Radio Times archive of Scales's time on Fawlty Towers and After Henry, as well as herself and Timothy West's appearance at our famous Covers Party in 2020.

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Timothy West and Prunella Scales photographed at the Radio Times Covers Party 2020

Actress Prunella Scales in a scene from episode

(L-R) Andrew Sachs, Prunella Scales, John Cleese, Connie Booth on the set of the BBC television sitcom

Actress Prunella Scales photographed for the BBC Radio 4 comedy series After Henry

Actress Prunella Scales in a scene from episode

Actors (L-R) Prunella Scales, John Cleese and Mervyn Pascoe (back to camera) in a scene from episode

Radio Times cover, 17th-23rd February 1979 (L-R) John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs and Connie Booth are back with a new series of

Prunella Scales photographed as Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers

Actress Prunella Scales photographed for the BBC Radio 4 comedy series

Prunella Scales

Actress Prunella Scales photographed for the BBC Radio 4 comedy series After Henry

Timothy West and Prunella Scales photographed at the Radio Times Covers Party 2020

Timothy West and Prunella Scales photographed at the Radio Times Covers Party 2020

Timothy West and Prunella Scales photographed at the Radio Times Covers Party 2020

Actress Prunella Scales in a scene from episode

(L-R) Andrew Sachs, Prunella Scales, John Cleese, Connie Booth on the set of the BBC television sitcom

Actress Prunella Scales photographed for the BBC Radio 4 comedy series After Henry

Actress Prunella Scales in a scene from episode

Actors (L-R) Prunella Scales, John Cleese and Mervyn Pascoe (back to camera) in a scene from episode

Radio Times cover, 17th-23rd February 1979 (L-R) John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs and Connie Booth are back with a new series of

Prunella Scales photographed as Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers

Actress Prunella Scales photographed for the BBC Radio 4 comedy series

Prunella Scales

Actress Prunella Scales photographed for the BBC Radio 4 comedy series After Henry

Timothy West and Prunella Scales photographed at the Radio Times Covers Party 2020

Timothy West and Prunella Scales photographed at the Radio Times Covers Party 2020

Timothy West and Prunella Scales photographed at the Radio Times Covers Party 2020

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Don Smith/Radio Times via Getty Images

Don Smith/Radio Times via Getty Images

Don Smith/Radio Times via Getty Images

Don Smith/Radio Times via Getty Images

Ray Burmiston

Ray Burmiston

Ray Burmiston

Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of David Craig, smiling against a lime green background.

David CraigSenior Drama Writer

David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.

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