Prunella Scales
Acting
Biography
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.
Born: June 22, 1932
Place of Birth: Sutton Abinger, Surrey, England, UK
Known For
Great Canal Journeys
To celebrate their golden wedding anniversary, actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales embark on four spectacular canal journeys, sharing a passion that they've enjoyed for decades. To start the series, Tim and Pru revisit the Kennet and Avon Canal in the West Country. Back in 1990, to promote the fully restored canal, Tim and Pru were invited to be the first boat in 42 years to travel the full length of the K&A. Almost a quarter of a century later, they navigate the 21 miles along its most picturesque stretch, starting in Bath and ending in Devizes.
Fawlty Towers
Owner Basil Fawlty, his wife Sybil, a chambermaid Polly, and Spanish waiter Manuel attempt to run their hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding guests.
Consuming Passions
Adapted from a play written by two Monty Python vets, this toothy satire launches with a tragic accident at Chumley's chocolate factory when hapless manager Ian Littleton (Tyler Butterworth) accidentally knocks several employees into a huge chocolate vat. The tragic mishap at the chocolate factory results in candy lovers getting an unexpected 'extra' in their sweets.
50 Years of BBC Two Comedy
Documentary charting and celebrating five decades of often groundbreaking, boundary-pushing comedy from BBC Two.
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
30 years after Fawlty Towers (1975) ended, Stephen Fry narrates a documentary about the making of this classic sitcom.
Natural Causes
Comedy thriller. Walter Bryce hires the professional services of the sinister Vincent to eliminate his rich, neurotic wife, Celia. All this to achieve a place in the sun with his secretary Angie. What seems to be a neat idea goes wrong when Vincent becomes involved on a personal level.
The Merry Wives of Windsor
When Sir John Falstaff decides that he wants to have a little fun he writes two letters to a pair of Window wives: Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. When they put their heads together and compare missives, they plan a practical joke or two to teach the knight a lesson. But Mistress Ford's husband is a very jealous man and is pumping Falstaff for information of the affair. Meanwhile the Pages' daughter Anne is beseiged by suitors.
Absurd Person Singular
A movie in three acts following three couples who, over three years, each host a Christmas party. The camera stays in the kitchen and we are treated to Ayckbourn's beautifully detailed look at middle class life.
The Rector's Wife
Three-part dramatization of the novel by Joanna Trollope. A clergyman's wife shocks the church establishment and infuriates her husband by taking a job in a supermarket. She attracts the passionate interest of three very different men: a newly-appointed archdeacon; his younger brother, a philosopher and academic; and a wealthy businessman new to the village.
Agatha Christie's Marple
The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.
Filmography
as Self
as Self
as Madame
as Joan
as Woman in Pub
as Great Aunt Greta
as Self / Sybil Fawlty
as Dolly Keeling
as Self
as Lady Moping
as Herself
as Mrs Mackenzie
as Red Admiral
as Elizabeth Dickens
as Sarah
as Dr. Minny Stinkler
as Self
as Lady Markby
as Aunt Agnes
as Marjorie
as Eleanor Bunsall
as Miss Bates
as Sara Turing
as Mrs. Duffel
as Anne Parker
as Mother
as Rose
as Elizabeth Palmore
as Margery
as Maude Waggins
as Marjorie
as Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (voice)
as Marjorie Richardson
as Queen (voice)
as Aunt Ellie
as Aunt Juley
as H.M.Q.
as Fleecy Flock
as Narrator
as Narrator
as Milly
as Hannah Ap Llewellyn
as Celia Bryce
as Ethel
as Sarah France
as Annie Parker
as Moira O'Neill
as Mrs Prentice
as Judith
as Jocelyn Anderson
as Marion Brewster-Wright
as Mrs. Shrigley
as Lady Kingsclere
as Mistress Page
as Miriam
as Gloria Gibbins
as Susan Peel
as Doris Rutter
as Mrs. Harrington
as Glynis
as Self
as Diana Blake
as Florence Farr
as Mrs. Sandman
as Sybil Fawlty
as Florence Farr
as Marion Joyce
as Queen Jemima
as Marie
as Estella Fitzjohn
as Council Office Worker (uncredited)
as Customer
as Mary
as Vicky Hobson
as Lydia Bennet