Prunella Scales
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- June 22, 1932
- Died
- October 27, 2025
- Birthplace
- Sutton Abinger, Surrey, England, UK
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.
Filmography
The Cancellation Of Fawlty Towers 2025
Actor
50 Years of BBC Two Comedy 2014
as Self
Sub Rosa 2014
as Madame
The Phone Call 2013
as Joan
Run For Your Wife 2012
as Woman in Pub
Horrid Henry: The Movie 2011
as Great Aunt Greta
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened 2009
as Self / Sybil Fawlty
The Shell Seekers 2007
as Dolly Keeling
- Think
Think 2007
as Customer
What the Pythons Did Next... 2007
as Self
Mr. Loveday's Little Outing 2006
as Lady Moping
Fawlty Towers Revisited 2005
as Herself
- The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy 2005
as Sybil Fawlty (archive footage) (uncredited)
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg 2002
as Grace
Station Jim 2001
as Queen Victoria
The Ghost of Greville Lodge 2000
as Sarah
Mad Cows 1999
as Dr. Minny Stinkler
An Ideal Husband 1999
as Lady Markby
Stiff Upper Lips 1998
as Aunt Agnes
An Audience with Alf Garnett 1997
Actor
Emma 1996
as Miss Bates
Breaking the Code 1996
as Sara Turing
- Lord of Misrule
Lord of Misrule 1996
as Shirley
An Awfully Big Adventure 1995
as Rose
Second Best 1994
as Margery
Wolf 1994
as Maude Waggins
Fair Game 1994
as Marjorie
The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends: The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and Mr. Jeremy Fisher 1994
as Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (voice)
Freddie As F.R.O.7. 1992
as Queen (voice)
My Friend Walter 1992
as Aunt Ellie
Howards End 1992
as Aunt Juley
A Question of Attribution 1991
as H.M.Q.
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson 1990
as Fleecy Flock
Revolting Rhymes 1990
as Narrator
Dirty Beasts 1990
as Narrator
Beyond The Pale 1989
as Milly
A Chorus of Disapproval 1989
as Hannah Ap Llewellyn
Communicators From Hell 1989
Actor
Bosses From Hell 1989
Actor
Natural Causes 1988
as Celia Bryce
Consuming Passions 1988
as Ethel
When We Are Married 1987
as Annie Parker
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne 1987
as Moira O'Neill
What the Butler Saw 1987
as Mrs Prentice
Home Cooking 1986
as Judith
Absurd Person Singular 1985
as Marion Brewster-Wright
Slimming Down 1984
as Mrs. Shrigley
The Wicked Lady 1983
as Lady Kingsclere
- Singles
Singles 1983
as Gail
The Merry Wives of Windsor 1982
as Mistress Page
Outside Edge 1982
as Miriam
Doris and Doreen 1978
as Doris Rutter
The Boys from Brazil 1978
as Mrs. Harrington
The Hound of the Baskervilles 1978
as Glynis
The Achurch Letters 1977
as Florence Farr
The Littlest Horse Thieves 1976
as Mrs. Sandman
- The Apple Cart
The Apple Cart 1975
as Queen Jemima
- The Ring of Truth
The Ring of Truth 1973
as Babs Pickard
Waltz of the Toreadors 1962
as Estella Fitzjohn
Room at the Top 1958
as Council Office Worker (uncredited)
The Crowded Day 1954
as Customer
What Every Woman Wants 1954
as Mary
Hobson's Choice 1954
as Vicky Hobson
- Laxdale Hall
Laxdale Hall 1953
as Morag McLeod
Credits from TMDB.