Legendary actor Timothy West who was married to Fawlty Towers actor Prunella Scales has died aged 90.
Mr West enjoyed a prestigious career on the stage and on television, having starred in shows such as comedy drama Brass, sitcom Not Going Out and soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders.
His children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West announced the tragic news with a shared statement on social media, saying he died peacefully in his sleep ‘with his friends and family at the end’.
The statement read: ‘After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening. He was 90 years old.
‘Tim was with friends and family at the end. He leaves his wife Prunella Scales, to whom he was married for 61 years, a sister, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. All of us will miss him terribly.
‘We would like to thank the incredible NHS staff at St George’s Hospital, Tooting and at Avery Wandsworth for their loving care during his last days.’
Emotional messages have poured in on social media following EastEnders star’s death, with broadcaster Piers Morgan, fellow actor James Dreyfus and Gyles Brandreth among those paying tribute.
Legendary actor Timothy West (pictured) who was married to Fawlty Towers actor Prunella Scales has died aged 90
His children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West revealed the tragic news in a joint statement
West was married to fellow actress Prunella Scales for more than 60 years
The couple tied the knot in 1963, 12 years before she played Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, the role she is most known for
Timothy West pictured with Queen Camilla in May 2024
The TalkTV presenter, 59, paid tribute to the ‘wonderful’ man, alongside a photo with Timothy from when he appeared on My Life Stories.
He wrote: ‘A wonderful actor, and delightful man. My Life Stories interview with him, as the love of his life Prunella Scales sat in the audience, was so moving.
‘They were married 61yrs, and his devotion to her after she developed Alzheimer’s was profoundly touching.’
Mr Dreyfus wrote on X: ‘Marvellous actor. A constant in many of our lives. He shall be much missed. My thoughts with his family. RIP Timothy West.’
Alongside a sweet picture of Timothy, Gyles Brandreth, 76, said: ‘Cheers, Tim! And thank you. A marvellous man – a marvellous actor, husband, father, friend.
‘On stage, on screen, on a canal boat, on the end of a pier (he loved a seaside pier!), in the garden with a glass of wine, he was just the best. The great Timothy West has died at 90: what a worthwhile, well-filled life.’
West was married to fellow actress Prunella Scales for more than 60 years, having tied the knot in 1963, 12 years before she played Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, the role she is most known for.
Prunella and Timothy previously starred together in their own Channel 4 TV show, Great Canal Journeys, between 2014 and 2021, but were forced to quit after the actress was diagnosed with Dementia.
Prunella filmed her last show in October 2019, but the couple appeared in more than 30 episodes of the programme.
The show documented journeys Prunella and Timothy would take on narrowboats across Europe, Egypt and India, and were involved in campaigning to revive the Kennet & Avon Canal in the Eighties.
Mr West also starred in television shows such as comedy drama Brass, sitcom Not Going Out and soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders.
In an interview with The Daily Mail in 2023, Mr West revealed the heartache at seeing his wife slip away amid her battle.
He said: ‘The part I’ve always found the most challenging as a carer is remaining patient. It’s fair to say I’ve never been especially well-endowed in this department though I do try to keep everything in check.
‘Not just for Pru’s sake, who these days forgets it all in a trice, but for my own, and for the sake of those around us.
‘The thing I find especially frustrating is that she can actually understand perfectly everything I’m saying. She just can’t hear me very well.’
Timothy West pictured with his wife Prunella Scales in the play The External
Timothy West on set of Gentleman Jack in Halifax, Yorkshire, in 2018
Mr West pictured with his son Samuel West, 56, who is also an actor, in October 2010
Mr West’s son Samuel West, 56, is also an actor and is a household name for his leading role in All Creatures Great and Small.
He was also married to actor Jacqueline Boyer from 1956 to 1961, and they had a daughter, Juliet West.
In Brass he played ruthless self-made businessman Bradley Hardacre from 1982 to 1984 before returning for a third series in 1990, while in Not Going Out he played Geoffrey, the father of Lucy Adams, played by Sally Bretton.
In Coronation Street he appeared in seven episodes in 2013 as Eric Babbage, while in EastEnders he played Stan Carter from 2014 to 2015.
During his career West also played former British prime minister Winston Churchill three times, in From Churchill and the Generals (1979), The Last Bastion (1984), and Hiroshima (1995).
In 2019, the Bradford-born actor played Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes, a recreation of three missing episodes of the BBC comedy Dad’s Army.
His film roles included Commissioner Berthier in The Day Of The Jackal (1973), King Francis in From Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998), and Nazi physician and war criminal Karl Gebhardt in Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973).
On stage, he was a regular performer of Shakespeare, playing Lear in 2016 and 2002.
He performed at the Piccadilly Theatre, with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and the West End, portraying many classic roles, including Shylock, Falstaff, and Macbeth.
In 1984, West was appointed CBE for his services to drama in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Prior to acting, West had attended the John Lyon School and Bristol Grammar School, and worked as an office furniture salesman and a recording technician before becoming an assistant stage manager at Wimbledon Theatre in 1956.
