Timothy West’s son Samuel has revealed that the actor’s wife, Prunella Scales, is ‘not well enough to cope’ with his death.
The English actor died in his sleep last month at the age of 90, leaving behind his beloved wife, Fawlty Towers star Prunella.
But Samuel told it The Sunday times that Prunella, 92, was unable to fully process the death of her husband due to her dementia.
Prunella was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2014, but symptoms developed in early 2021 – and husband Timothy cared for her throughout.
Regarding his mother’s handling of Timothy’s death, Samuel said, “All I’m saying is she’s not really well enough to deal with it all.”
Timothy and Prunella married in 1963, twelve years before she played the iconic role she would forever be associated with – as Sybil Fawlty in the now cult classic TV series Fawlty Towers.
Timothy West’s son Samuel has revealed that the actor’s wife, Prunella Scales, is ‘not well enough to cope’ with his death (pictured in 2017)
The English actor passed away in his sleep last month at the age of 90, leaving behind his beloved wife, Fawlty Towers star Prunella (pictured in 1986).
They worked together on several shows and in 2014 started the hugely popular Channel 4 TV show, Great Canal Journeys, which saw the pair indulge in their shared love of travel and journeys. continue navigating narrowboats through Europe, Egypt and India.
But four years ago, the couple announced they would quit the program due to Prunella’s worsening memory and hearing loss.
Her short-term memory is severely affected by her dementia and she often cannot remember what she did or said a few minutes earlier, Timothy revealed at the time.
At the time the couple met, Timothy had just ended his five-year marriage to actress Jacqueline Boyer, with whom he had a daughter, Juliet.
His close Prunella, in 1963, would last more than six decades, such was the moving power of his devotion to each other.
Timothy documented their story in Pru & Me: A Love Story, a book released last year to mark their diamond anniversary.
It was on the set of the historical TV drama She Died Young – which Prunella would later describe as “a terrible play” – where the pair of budding actors fell for each other in 1961 and began a romantic tradition that they would maintain. the rest of their lives.
Last year on Loose Women, Timothy revealed that when he and Prunella were between takes, they spent their time doing crosswords and writing letters to each other.
But Samuel told The Sunday Times that Prunella, 92, was unable to fully comprehend her husband’s death due to her dementia (pictured in December 2023).
Prunella was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2014, but symptoms developed in early 2021 – and husband Timothy cared for her throughout (pictured in 1991)
He said, “Pru and I had a certain amount of free time. We spent a lot of time doing crossword puzzles and writing letters to each other.
“This is something that has lasted our entire lives.”
The leading actor continued, “We love writing letters about something the other person may have missed or not fully understood. We made each other laugh and made each other discover things.’
The couple welcomed two sons: Joseph (Joe) and actor Samuel.
Prunella’s big acting break came with the early 1960s sitcom Marriage Lines opposite Richard Briers, before landing the role of overbearing husband Sybil in Fawlty Towers.
It was around this time that Timothy also began to build his career, having already established himself on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing iconic roles such as Shylock, Falstaff (accompanied by his son Samuel as Hal on tour and in the Old Vic), and Macbeth.
He also played King Lear four times in the past forty years.
But in 1975 he became a household name on the small screen in the major TV series Edward the Seventh, in which he played the title role from the age of 23 until the king’s death. In 2013 he starred in soaps, starring in EastEnders.
Timothy West and Prunella Scales with their sons Joseph and Samuel in 1975
Timothy West and Prunella Scales seen together at their wedding in 1963
But those who knew Timothy best recognize that the only roles that mattered to him were that of devoted husband and father.
This became even more apparent after Prunella was formally diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2014, although the signs of her disease were there long before that.
Timothy revealed in his book that the actress continued to push her boundaries during a 2003 production of Oscar Wilde’s A Woman Of No Importance at the Theater Royal Haymarket in London’s West End.
“Stopping would have devastated her,” he wrote. “Very reluctantly, she was persuaded to use prompters – or ‘idiot signs’, as she called them, which were placed around the stage (out of view of the audience).”
In an interview with the BBC last year, Timothy said he remembered every word of that life-changing moment when the doctor finally diagnosed her condition: “We went to a specialist who said, ‘Sorry, this is just something that happens to you when you You’re older and it doesn’t get any easier, but you can deal with it. Don’t let it scare you.’