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Prunella Scales

Acting

Born: 1932-06-22
Died: 2025-10-27
From: Sutton Abinger, Surrey, England, UK
Gender: Female
Popularity: 0.7

Also Known As

Prunella Margaret Rumney West ScalesPrunella Margaret Rumney Illingworthپرونلا اسکیلز

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.

Photos5

Awards & Nominations1 won · 0 nominated

🏆 Won

Commander of the Order of the British Empire

1992

Acting89 titles

The Rector's Wife
9.0
Series

The Rector's Wife

1994Drama
Pride and Prejudice
9.0
Series

Pride and Prejudice

1952Drama
Great Canal Journeys
8.8
Series

Great Canal Journeys

2014 - ...Documentary
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
8.4
Movie

Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened

2009Documentary
Consuming Passions
8.3
Movie

Consuming Passions

1988Comedy
Absurd Person Singular
8.3
Movie

Absurd Person Singular

1985Comedy
Fawlty Towers
8.3
Series

Fawlty Towers

1975-1979Comedy
50 Years of BBC Two Comedy
8.0
Movie

50 Years of BBC Two Comedy

2014Documentary
Natural Causes
8.0
Movie

Natural Causes

1988Drama
Outside Edge
8.0
Movie

Outside Edge

1982Comedy
The Merry Wives of Windsor
8.0
Movie

The Merry Wives of Windsor

1982Comedy
The Royal
7.8
Series

The Royal

2003-2011Drama
Agatha Christie's Marple
7.8
Series

Agatha Christie's Marple

2004-2013Drama
Silent Witness
7.6
Series

Silent Witness

1996 - ...Thriller
Midsomer Murders
7.5
Series

Midsomer Murders

1997 - ...Thriller
Hobson's Choice
7.4
Movie

Hobson's Choice

1954Comedy
The Phone Call
7.3
Movie

The Phone Call

2013Drama
Seven of One
7.3
Series

Seven of One

1973Comedy
Lucky Feller
7.2
Series

Lucky Feller

1976Comedy
Screen One
7.2
Series

Screen One

1989-1994Drama
The Ghost of Greville Lodge
7.0
Movie

The Ghost of Greville Lodge

2000Thriller
Beyond The Pale
7.0
Movie

Beyond The Pale

1989Drama
Howards End
7.0
Movie

Howards End

1992Drama
My Friend Walter
7.0
Movie

My Friend Walter

1992Action
When We Are Married
7.0
Movie

When We Are Married

1987Comedy
The World of Lee Evans
7.0
Series

The World of Lee Evans

1995Comedy
Signs and Wonders
7.0
Series

Signs and Wonders

1995Drama
Never the Twain
7.0
Series

Never the Twain

1981-1991Comedy
Playhouse
7.0
Series

Playhouse

1974-1983Drama
Target
7.0
Series

Target

1977-1978Drama
Dickens
7.0
Series

Dickens

2002Documentary
Marriage Lines
7.0
Series

Marriage Lines

1961-1966Comedy
The Shell Seekers
6.9
Movie

The Shell Seekers

2007Drama
The Littlest Horse Thieves
6.9
Movie

The Littlest Horse Thieves

1976Drama
Room at the Top
6.9
Movie

Room at the Top

1958Drama
A Question of Attribution
6.8
Movie

A Question of Attribution

1991Drama
Second Best
6.8
Movie

Second Best

1994Drama
The Boys from Brazil
6.7
Movie

The Boys from Brazil

1978Drama
Bergerac
6.7
Series

Bergerac

1981-1991Drama
Emma
6.6
Movie

Emma

1996Comedy
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
6.6
Movie

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne

1987Drama
An Ideal Husband
6.5
Movie

An Ideal Husband

1999Comedy
Doris and Doreen
6.5
Movie

Doris and Doreen

1978Drama
What Every Woman Wants
6.5
Movie

What Every Woman Wants

1954Drama
An Awfully Big Adventure
6.5
Movie

An Awfully Big Adventure

1995Romance
Dalziel and Pascoe
6.4
Series

Dalziel and Pascoe

1996-2007Thriller
Dennis the Menace and Gnasher
6.3
Cartoon

Dennis the Menace and Gnasher

1996-1998Animation
After Henry
6.3
Series

After Henry

1988-1992Comedy
Mapp & Lucia
6.3
Series

Mapp & Lucia

1985-1986Comedy
Unnatural Causes
6.3
Series

Unnatural Causes

1986Thriller
Casualty
6.2
Series

Casualty

1986 - ...Drama
Wolf
6.1
Movie

Wolf

1994Horror
ScreenPlay
6.0
Series

ScreenPlay

1986-1993Drama
The BBC Television Shakespeare
6.0
Series

The BBC Television Shakespeare

1978-1985Drama
The Crowded Day
5.8
Movie

The Crowded Day

1954Drama
Stiff Upper Lips
5.6
Movie

Stiff Upper Lips

1998Comedy
Breaking the Code
5.5
Movie

Breaking the Code

1996Drama
A Chorus of Disapproval
5.4
Movie

A Chorus of Disapproval

1989Drama
Freddie As F.R.O.7.
5.3
Cartoon

Freddie As F.R.O.7.

1992Animation
An Audience with...
5.3
Series

An Audience with...

1978-2013Documentary
BBC Play of the Month
5.3
Series

BBC Play of the Month

1965-1983Drama
Horrid Henry: The Movie
5.2
Movie

Horrid Henry: The Movie

2011Drama
Waltz of the Toreadors
5.0
Movie

Waltz of the Toreadors

1962Comedy
Fawlty Towers Revisited
5.0
Movie

Fawlty Towers Revisited

2005Documentary
The Wicked Lady
5.0
Movie

The Wicked Lady

1983Drama
Sub Rosa
5.0
Movie

Sub Rosa

2014Drama
Fair Game
4.8
Movie

Fair Game

1994Drama
Country Matters
4.6
Series

Country Matters

1972-1973Drama
Run For Your Wife
4.4
Movie

Run For Your Wife

2012Comedy
The Hound of the Baskervilles
4.4
Movie

The Hound of the Baskervilles

1978Comedy
Mad Cows
4.4
Movie

Mad Cows

1999Comedy
Thirty-Minute Theatre
4.3
Series

Thirty-Minute Theatre

1965-1973Drama
Loose Women
3.6
Series

Loose Women

1999 - ...Documentary
What the Butler Saw
3.0
Movie

What the Butler Saw

1987Drama
Mr. Loveday's Little Outing
0
Movie

Mr. Loveday's Little Outing

2006Comedy
Dirty Beasts
0
Cartoon

Dirty Beasts

1990Drama
Revolting Rhymes
0
Cartoon

Revolting Rhymes

1990Drama
An Audience with Alf Garnett
0
Movie

An Audience with Alf Garnett

1997Comedy
What the Pythons Did Next...
0
Movie

What the Pythons Did Next...

2007Drama
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson
0
Movie

The Tale of Little Pig Robinson

1990Drama
Home Cooking
0
Movie

Home Cooking

1986Drama
Slimming Down
0
Movie

Slimming Down

1984Comedy
The Achurch Letters
0
Movie

The Achurch Letters

1977Drama
Bosses From Hell
0
Movie

Bosses From Hell

1989Drama
Communicators From Hell
0
Movie

Communicators From Hell

1989Drama
The Cancellation Of Fawlty Towers
0
Movie

The Cancellation Of Fawlty Towers

2025Comedy
The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends: The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and Mr. Jeremy Fisher
0
Cartoon

The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends: The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and Mr. Jeremy Fisher

1994Animation
Keeping Mum
0
Series

Keeping Mum

1997-1998Comedy
Theatre Night
0
Series

Theatre Night

1985-1990Drama