Prunella Scales

Prunella Scales

🎂 22nd June 1932 (93 yrs) 📍 Sutton Abinger, Surrey, England, UK

Known For

Wolf

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.

Prunella Scales

Movies Featuring Prunella Scales

The Cancellation Of Fawlty Towers

The Cancellation Of Fawlty Towers (2025)

50 Years of BBC Two Comedy

50 Years of BBC Two Comedy (2014)

as Self
Sub Rosa

Sub Rosa (2014)

as Madame
The Phone Call

The Phone Call (2013)

as Joan
Run For Your Wife

Run For Your Wife (2012)

as Woman in Pub
Horrid Henry: The Movie

Horrid Henry: The Movie (2011)

as Great Aunt Greta
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened

Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened (2009)

as Self / Sybil Fawlty
The Shell Seekers

The Shell Seekers (2007)

as Dolly Keeling
No Image

Think (2007)

as Customer
What the Pythons Did Next...

What the Pythons Did Next... (2007)

as Self
Mr. Loveday's Little Outing

Mr. Loveday's Little Outing (2006)

as Lady Moping
Fawlty Towers Revisited

Fawlty Towers Revisited (2005)

as Herself
No Image

The Funny Blokes of British Comedy (2005)

as Sybil Fawlty (archive footage) (uncredited)
No Image

A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg (2002)

as Grace
No Image

Station Jim (2001)

as Queen Victoria
The Ghost of Greville Lodge

The Ghost of Greville Lodge (2000)

as Sarah
Mad Cows

Mad Cows (1999)

as Dr. Minny Stinkler
An Ideal Husband

An Ideal Husband (1999)

as Lady Markby
Stiff Upper Lips

Stiff Upper Lips (1998)

as Aunt Agnes
An Audience with Alf Garnett

An Audience with Alf Garnett (1997)

Emma

Emma (1996)

as Miss Bates
Breaking the Code

Breaking the Code (1996)

as Sara Turing
No Image

Lord of Misrule (1996)

as Shirley
An Awfully Big Adventure

An Awfully Big Adventure (1995)

as Rose
Second Best

Second Best (1994)

as Margery
Wolf

Wolf (1994)

as Maude Waggins
Fair Game

Fair Game (1994)

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

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.

Freddie As F.R.O.7. (1992)

as Queen (voice)
My Friend Walter

My Friend Walter (1992)

as Aunt Ellie
Howards End

Howards End (1992)

as Aunt Juley
A Question of Attribution

A Question of Attribution (1991)

as H.M.Q.
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson

The Tale of Little Pig Robinson (1990)

as Fleecy Flock
Dirty Beasts

Dirty Beasts (1990)

as Narrator
Revolting Rhymes

Revolting Rhymes (1990)

as Narrator
Beyond The Pale

Beyond The Pale (1989)

as Milly
A Chorus of Disapproval

A Chorus of Disapproval (1989)

as Hannah Ap Llewellyn
Bosses From Hell

Bosses From Hell (1989)

Communicators From Hell

Communicators From Hell (1989)

Natural Causes

Natural Causes (1988)

as Celia Bryce
Consuming Passions

Consuming Passions (1988)

as Ethel
When We Are Married

When We Are Married (1987)

as Annie Parker
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987)

as Moira O'Neill
What the Butler Saw

What the Butler Saw (1987)

as Mrs Prentice
Home Cooking

Home Cooking (1986)

as Judith
Absurd Person Singular

Absurd Person Singular (1985)

as Marion Brewster-Wright
Slimming Down

Slimming Down (1984)

as Mrs. Shrigley
The Wicked Lady

The Wicked Lady (1983)

as Lady Kingsclere
No Image

Singles (1983)

as Gail
The Merry Wives of Windsor

The Merry Wives of Windsor (1982)

as Mistress Page
Outside Edge

Outside Edge (1982)

as Miriam
Doris and Doreen

Doris and Doreen (1978)

as Doris Rutter
The Boys from Brazil

The Boys from Brazil (1978)

as Mrs. Harrington
The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978)

as Glynis
The Achurch Letters

The Achurch Letters (1977)

as Florence Farr
The Littlest Horse Thieves

The Littlest Horse Thieves (1976)

as Mrs. Sandman
No Image

The Apple Cart (1975)

as Queen Jemima
No Image

The Ring of Truth (1973)

as Babs Pickard
Waltz of the Toreadors

Waltz of the Toreadors (1962)

as Estella Fitzjohn
Room at the Top

Room at the Top (1958)

as Council Office Worker (uncredited)
The Crowded Day

The Crowded Day (1954)

as Customer
What Every Woman Wants

What Every Woman Wants (1954)

as Mary
Hobson's Choice

Hobson's Choice (1954)

as Vicky Hobson
No Image

Laxdale Hall (1953)

as Morag McLeod