Who did Prunella Scales play in Fawlty Towers? Character explored as costar John Cleese pays tribute in the wake of her death at 93

English actress Prunella Scales is no more. Scales, who people might remember as Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, died at the age of 93. Following the news, her co-star from the series, John Cleese, shared a heartfelt tribute, saying she was a “wonderful comic actress.” According to the East Anglian Daily Times, Cleese also said:

“Scene after scene she was absolutely perfect.”

Meanwhile, as per a statement shared by Scales’ family, the actress had watched the sitcom even before the day she died. She was a dementia patient. The statement from her sons read:

“Our darling mother Prunella Scales died peacefully at home in London yesterday. She was 93. Although dementia forced her retirement from a remarkable acting career of nearly 70 years, she continued to live at home. She was watching Fawlty Towers the day before she died.”

Prunella Scales’ sons thanked everyone who was with their mother during the last days of her life. They mentioned that she was at peace and was much loved during that time. Besides John Cleese, BBC’s Jon Petrie also remembered the late actress as:

“She was a national treasure whose brilliance as Sybil Fawlty lit up screens and still makes us laugh today.”

Per the BBC, Scales once said that she would always be thankful to Sybil Fawlty. She said it was not easy to make the sitcom, but the process was quite stimulating.

Prunella Scales on dementia and disliking sitcoms

In September 2024, Scales sat down with The Times for an interview. She said that she was not too fond of discussing Fawlty Towers as she felt the topic was annoying enough. When asked how she reacted when she was asked about her character and the series, Prunella Scales said:

“Yes. It’s boring. On the whole, I love it when they don’t.”

While discussing her dementia, she said her memory was not stable. However, she commented that as one became older, their memory was bound to get affected. She said:

“My memory is less good. I mean, I forget to do things and, that’s age, the same as everybody else. Oh, don’t go on asking me about things like that.”

In a 1995 interview with the Radio Times, Prunella Scales shared that she said that she did not like sitcoms that even though they were her main source of income. She commented:

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“I don't mind situation comedy in the theatre, where you do it night after night and can learn from the audience. I love long runs because I'm a slow worker. But on TV it's a horrendous schedule. I never really felt ready to go on Fawlty Towers.”

The actress commented that despite her belief, sitcoms opened career avenues for her. Interestingly, she said she did not like to watch herself but would still do that to assess if her acting was fine. Prunella Scales believed that this was more of a vanity and self-obsession. However, she said watching television was more like putting herself to sleep.

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