Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English former actress, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...

), in the BBC comedy '' Fawlty Towers'', her nomination for a

BAFTA award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

for her portrayal of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

in '' A Question of Attribution'' (''

Screen One ''Screen One'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and distributed by BBC Worldwide, that was transmitted on BBC One from 1989 to 1998. A total of six series were broadcast, incorporating sixty individual films ...

'', BBC 1991) by

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

, and for the documentary series '' Great Canal Journeys'' (2014–2021), travelling on canal barges and

narrowboat A narrowboat is a particular type of canal boat, built to fit the narrow locks of the United Kingdom. The UK's canal system provided a nationwide transport network during the Industrial Revolution, but with the advent of the railways, commer ...

s with her husband, fellow actor

Timothy West Timothy Lancaster West, CBE (born 20 October 1934) is an English actor and presenter. He has appeared frequently on both stage and television, including stints in both ''Coronation Street'' (as Eric Babbage) and ''EastEnders'' (as Stan Carte ...

Early life

Scales was born in Sutton Abinger,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, the daughter of Catherine (''

'' Scales), an actress, and John Richardson Illingworth, a cotton salesman. She attended Moira House Girls' School,

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...

. She had a younger brother, Timothy "Timmo" Illingworth (1934–2017). In 1939, at the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Scales's parents moved with their children to Bucks Mill near

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. Scales herself and her brother were evacuated to

Near Sawrey Near Sawrey and Far Sawrey are two neighbouring villages in the Furness area of Cumbria, England. They are located in the Lake District between the village of Hawkshead and the lake of Windermere. The two lie on the B5285, which runs from Hawk ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

Career

Early works and career break

Scales started her career in 1951 as an assistant stage manager at the Bristol Old Vic. Throughout her career, she has often been cast in comic roles. Her early work included the (now believed to be lost) second UK adaptation of ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'' (1952), '' Laxdale Hall'' (1953), ''

Hobson's Choice A Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one thing is actually offered. The term is often used to describe an illusion that multiple choices are available. The most well known Hobson's choice is "I'll give you a choice: take it or leav ...

'' (1954), '' Room at the Top'' (1959) and '' Waltz of the Toreadors'' (1962). Her career break came with the early 1960s sitcom ''

Marriage Lines ''Marriage Lines'' is a British television sitcom first broadcast between 1963 and 1966. The series gave Richard Briers and Prunella Scales, its lead stars, a significant boost in their careers. At first titled ''The Marriage Lines'', the prog ...

'' starring opposite Richard Briers. She played her most famous role, Sybil Fawlty in the sitcom '' Fawlty Towers'', over two series in 1975 and 1979. In addition to this, she has had roles in

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

sitcoms A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...

, and comedy series including '' After Henry'', ''

Smelling of Roses ''Smelling of Roses'' was a BBC Radio 4 comedy series starring Prunella Scales and written by Simon Brett. There were four series, each of six episodes, broadcast from 2000 to 2003. The series was produced and directed by Maria Esposito (some ep ...

'' and '' Ladies of Letters''; on television she starred in the

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

series '' Mapp & Lucia'' based on the novels by

E. F. Benson Edward Frederic Benson (24 July 1867 – 29 February 1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist and short story writer. Early life E.F. Benson was born at Wellington College in Berkshire, the fifth child of the headm ...

. She played

's '' A Question of Attribution''. In 1973, Scales was cast with

Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as ''Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and '' Open All Hours''. ...

in ''One Man's Meat'' which formed part of Barker's ''

Seven of One ''Seven of One'' was a British comedy series that aired on BBC2 in 1973. Starring Ronnie Barker, ''Seven of One'' was a series of seven separate comedies that would serve as possible pilots for sitcoms. Originally it was to be called ''Six o ...

'' series, also for the BBC. Her later film appearances include ''

Escape from the Dark ''Escape from the Dark'' (American title: ''The Littlest Horse Thieves'') is a 1976 family drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions, directed by Charles Jarrott and starring Alastair Sim (in his final film role), Peter Barkworth and Mau ...

'' (1976), ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set ...

'' (1978), '' The Boys From Brazil'' (1978), '' The Wicked Lady'' (1983), ''

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne ''The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne'' is a 1987 British drama film made by HandMade Films Ltd. and United British Artists (UBA) starring Maggie Smith and Bob Hoskins. It was directed by Jack Clayton (his final theatrical film) and produced b ...

'' (1987), ''

Consuming Passions ''Consuming Passions'' is a 1988 black comedy film which stars Vanessa Redgrave, Jonathan Pryce, and Sammi Davis and was directed by Giles Foster. Synopsis The film is based on '' Secrets'' by Michael Palin and Terry Jones a BBC television pla ...

'' (1988), '' A Chorus of Disapproval'' (1989), '' Howards End'' (1992), ''

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

'' (1994), ''

An Awfully Big Adventure ''An Awfully Big Adventure'' is a 1995 British coming-of-age film directed by Mike Newell. The story concerns a teenage girl who joins a local repertory theatre troupe in Liverpool. During a winter production of ''Peter Pan'', the play quickly ...

'' (1995) and '' Stiff Upper Lips'' (1997). For the BBC Television Shakespeare production of ''

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

'' (1982) she played Mistress Page and in the ''

Theatre Night ''Theatre Night'' is the umbrella title under which adaptations of classic and contemporary stage plays were usually broadcast on BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It ...

'' series (BBC) she appeared with her husband

in the

Joe Orton John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his death in 1967, was short but highly influential. During this brie ...

farce '' What the Butler Saw'' (1987) playing Mrs Prentice.

The 1990s and onwards

For ten years, Scales appeared as "Dotty" Turnbull, together with

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in th ...

as her character's daughter, Kate Neall, in advertisements for UK supermarket chain

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues an ...

. In 1996, Scales starred in the television film, ''Lord of Misrule'', alongside Richard Wilson,

Emily Mortimer Emily Kathleen Anne Mortimer (born 6 October 1971) is a British-American actress. She began acting in stage productions and has since appeared in several film and television roles. In 2003, she won an Independent Spirit Award for her performanc ...

and

Stephen Moyer Stephen Moyer (born Stephen John Emery; 11 October 1969) is an English film and television actor who is best known as vampire Bill Compton in the HBO series '' True Blood''. His first television role was in 1993 as Philip Masefield in the TV ...

. The film was directed by Guy Jenkins and filming took place in

Fowey Fowey ( ; kw, Fowydh, meaning 'Beech Trees') is a port town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, with the local ch ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

. Also in 1996, she appeared as Miss Bates in

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

's '' Emma''. In 1997, Scales starred in

Chris Barfoot Chris Barfoot (born Christopher John Barfoot, 7 September 1966) is a British actor, writer/ director and producer of film productions. Biography Barfoot and Clother received an ‘Honorable mention’ at the Dragon Con film festival for ''The R ...

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

film short ''Phoenix'' which was first aired in 1999 by

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primar ...

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. ...

. Scales played The Client, an evil government minister funding inter-genetic time travel experiments. The same year, she played Minny Stinkler in the comedy film ''Mad Cows'', directed by Sara Sugarman. In 1993 Scales voiced Mrs Tiggy-Winkle in ''

The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends ''The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends'' is a British animated anthology television series based on the works of Beatrix Potter, featuring Peter Rabbit and other anthropomorphic animal characters created by Potter. 14 of Potter's stories were ...

''. In 2000, Scales appeared in the film ''The Ghost of Greville Lodge'' as Sarah. The same year, she appeared as Eleanor Bunsall in ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

'' "Beyond the Grave". In 2001, she appeared in two episodes of ''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel ...

'' "Faith" as Mrs Parker. In 2003, she appeared as Hilda, "she who must be obeyed", wife of

Horace Rumpole ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, oft ...

, in four BBC Radio 4 plays, with Timothy West playing her fictional husband. Scales and West toured Australia at the same time in different productions. Scales appeared in a one-woman show called ''An Evening with

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

'', which also featured the tenor

Ian Partridge Ian Partridge (born 12 June 1938) is a retired English lyric tenor, whose repertoire ranged from Monteverdi, Bach and Handel, the Elizabethan lute songs, German, French and English songs, through to Schoenberg, Weill and Britten, and on to conte ...

singing songs written by Prince Albert. Scales has performed ''An Evening with Queen Victoria'' more than 400 times, in theatres around the world, over the course of 30 years. Also in 2003, Scales voiced the speaking ("cawing") role of Magpie, the eponymous thief in a recording of

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

's opera ''

La gazza ladra ''La gazza ladra'' (, ''The Thieving Magpie'') is a ''melodramma'' or opera semiseria in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on ''La pie voleuse'' by Théodore Baudouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caig ...

'' (''The Thieving Magpie''). In 2006, Scales appeared alongside

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winners

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...

and

Maximilian Schell Maximilian Schell (8 December 1930 – 1 February 2014) was an Austrian-born Swiss actor, who also wrote, directed and produced some of his own films. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1961 American film '' Judgment at Nuremberg'', ...

in the mini-series '' The Shell Seekers''.

Later years

On 16 November 2007, Scales appeared in '' Children in Need'', reprising her role as Sybil Fawlty, the new manager who wants to take over Hotel Babylon.

said in an interview on 8 May 2009 that the role of Sybil Fawlty was originally offered to

Bridget Turner Bridget Joanna Turner (22 February 1939 – 27 December 2014) was an English actress. She played a radical English teacher, Judy Threadgold, opposite Alun Armstrong's woodwork teacher in Alan Plater's ''Get Lost!'' for Yorkshire Television, ...

, who turned down the part, claiming "it wasn't right for her". Scales appeared in the audio play ''The Youth of Old Age'', produced in 2008 by the Wireless Theatre Company, and available to download free of charge on their website. In 2008, she appeared in ''

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fiction ...

’s

Miss Marple Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of Ch ...

'' "

A Pocket Full of Rye A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

" as Mrs Mackenzie. Scales appeared in a production of ''

Carrie's War ''Carrie's War'' is a 1973 English children's novel by Nina Bawden set during the Second World War. It follows two young London evacuees, Carrie and her younger brother Nick, into a Welsh village. It is often read in schools for its literary a ...

'', the Nina Bawden novel, at the West End

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

in 2009. The run was successful despite middling reviews. However, Ben Bradley, writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Arts & Beats, stated that Scales was the most memorable thing about the show, "

laying Laying is the act of making equipment level. It usually involves moving equipment in small motions so that spirit levels are centralised in all planes. Movement is usually done by small worm gears or other fine setting devices for accurate s ...

a rich, Miss Havisham-like eccentric, who trails through her house in evening gowns". Scales starred in the 2011 British live-action 3D family comedy film '' Horrid Henry: The Movie'' as the titular character's Great Aunt Greta. She appeared in a short audio story, ''Dandruff Hits the Turtleneck'', written by John Mayfield, and available for download. Scales starred in a short film called "Stranger Danger" alongside Roderick Cowie in 2012. In 2013 she made a guest appearance in the popular BBC radio comedy ''

Cabin Pressure Cabin pressurization is a process in which conditioned air is pumped into the cabin of an aircraft or spacecraft in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for passengers and crew flying at high altitudes. For aircraft, this air is ...

'' as Wendy Crieff, the mother of Captain Martin Crieff. Alongside husband West, Scales appeared in '' Great Canal Journeys'' for Channel 4 from 2014 for ten series before her deteriorating health brought her television career to an end. Stuart Heritage, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' in November 2016, commented that it "is ultimately a work about a devoted couple facing something huge together. It's a beautiful, meditative programme". "An emotional but unrooted glimpse of life with dementia" was Christopher Howse's characterization in October 2018, writing for ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

''. Reviewing Scales' and West's last episode in October 2019 for ''The Guardian'', Jack Seale wrote "Since the first instalment in 2014, the series has charted the long, slow goodbye that is living with dementia, cherishing every moment of precious normality and celebrating how an immersion in nature is the surest way to bring the old Pru back."

Personal life

In 1992 Scales appeared on BBC Radio 4's ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

''. Her chosen book was the ''

Complete Works of Shakespeare ''Complete Works of William Shakespeare'' is the standard name given to any volume containing all the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. Some editions include several works that were not completely of Shakespeare's authorship (collaborati ...

'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

in Russian, and a Russian dictionary; her luxury item was "a huge

tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads ma ...

kit". Her biography, ''Prunella'', written by Teresa Ransom, was published by UK publishing imprint John Murray in 2005. In 2005, she named the P&O cruise ship ''

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified with ...

''. A rose-breeder created a rose, ''Prunella'', in her honour. Scales is a patron of the Lace Market Theatre in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

Family

Scales is married to the actor

, with whom she has two sons; the elder is actor and director

Samuel West Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, narrator and theatre director. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio. He often appears as reciter with orche ...

. Their younger son Joseph participated in two episodes of ''Great Canal Journeys'' filmed in France. Scales also has a step-daughter, Juliet, by West's first marriage.

Charity work

Scales has been an ambassador for

SOS Children's Villages SOS Children's Villages is an independent, non-governmental, nonprofit international development organization headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria. The organization provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to children in need and protect ...

charity, an international orphan charity providing homes and mothers for orphaned and abandoned children. She supports the charity's annual World Orphan Week campaign, which takes place each February.

Alzheimer's disease

In March 2014, Scales's husband told ''The Guardian'' that she had been diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

. The couple discussed practical measures in a radio programme about age and

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

on BBC Radio 4 in December 2014. In June 2018, her husband characterised her short-term memory as "no good at all", and admitted her condition "slowed them down", but "not so it closes up opportunities." In January 2020 it was announced that due to Scales’s deteriorating health, she and West had no choice but to bring her 67-year career to an end.

Honours

Scales was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the

1992 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in the Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published i ...

List. Her husband had received the same honour in the

1984 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supp ...

List.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scales, Prunella 1932 births Living people People from Mole Valley (district) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Actresses from Surrey English stage actresses English radio actresses Television personalities from Surrey English television actresses English film actresses English voice actresses 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses British waterways activists People with Alzheimer's disease Labour Party (UK) people British comedy actresses