Prunella Scales
Acting
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.
TV Shows(34)
Great Canal Journeys
Self
2014
Agatha Christie's Marple
Mrs Mackenzie
2004
The Royal
Red Admiral
2003
Dickens
Elizabeth Dickens
2002
Loose Women
Self
1999
Keeping Mum
Marjorie
1997
Midsomer Murders
Eleanor Bunsall
1997
Dennis the Menace and Gnasher
Mrs. Duffel
1996
Dalziel & Pascoe
1996
Silent Witness
Anne Parker
1996
The World of Lee Evans
Mother
1995
Look at the State We're In!
Storyteller
1995
Signs and Wonders
Elizabeth Palmore
1995
The Rector's Wife
Marjorie Richardson
1994
Thompson
1988
After Henry
Sarah France
1988
Unnatural Causes
Judith
1986
Casualty
Jocelyn Anderson
1986
Theatre Night
Mrs. Prentice
1985
Mapp & Lucia
Miss Elizabeth Mapp
1985
Bergerac
Gloria Gibbins
1981
Never the Twain
Susan Peel
1981
An Audience with...
Self
1978
Target
Diana Blake
1977
Lucky Feller
1976
Fawlty Towers
Sybil Fawlty
1975
Playhouse
Florence Farr
1974
Seven of One
Marion Joyce
1973
Country Matters
Babs Pickard
1972
BBC Play of the Month
Queen Jemima
1965
Thirty-Minute Theatre
Marie
1965
Faces of Jim
Laura Morrell
1961
Marriage Lines
Kate Starling
1961
Pride and Prejudice
Lydia Bennet
1952
Movies(64)
The Cancellation Of Fawlty Towers
2025
50 Years of BBC Two Comedy
Self
2014
Sub Rosa
Madame
2014
The Phone Call
Joan
2013
Run For Your Wife
Woman in Pub
2012
Horrid Henry: The Movie
Great Aunt Greta
2011
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
Self / Sybil Fawlty
2009
The Shell Seekers
Dolly Keeling
2007
Think
Customer
2007
What the Pythons Did Next...
Self
2007
Mr. Loveday's Little Outing
Lady Moping
2006
Fawlty Towers Revisited
Herself
2005
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
Sybil Fawlty (archive footage) (uncredited)
2005
A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg
Grace
2002
Station Jim
Queen Victoria
2001
The Ghost of Greville Lodge
Sarah
2000
Mad Cows
Dr. Minny Stinkler
1999
An Ideal Husband
Lady Markby
1999
Stiff Upper Lips
Aunt Agnes
1998
An Audience with Alf Garnett
1997
Emma
Miss Bates
1996
Breaking the Code
Sara Turing
1996
Lord of Misrule
Shirley
1996
An Awfully Big Adventure
Rose
1995
Second Best
Margery
1994
Wolf
Maude Waggins
1994
Fair Game
Marjorie
1994
The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends: The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and Mr. Jeremy Fisher
Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (voice)
1994
Freddie As F.R.O.7.
Queen (voice)
1992
My Friend Walter
Aunt Ellie
1992
Howards End
Aunt Juley
1992
A Question of Attribution
H.M.Q.
1991
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson
Fleecy Flock
1990
Dirty Beasts
Narrator
1990
Revolting Rhymes
Narrator
1990
Beyond The Pale
Milly
1989
A Chorus of Disapproval
Hannah Ap Llewellyn
1989
Bosses From Hell
1989
Communicators From Hell
1989
Natural Causes
Celia Bryce
1988
Consuming Passions
Ethel
1988
When We Are Married
Annie Parker
1987
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
Moira O'Neill
1987
What the Butler Saw
Mrs Prentice
1987
Home Cooking
Judith
1986
Absurd Person Singular
Marion Brewster-Wright
1985
Slimming Down
Mrs. Shrigley
1984
The Wicked Lady
Lady Kingsclere
1983
Singles
Gail
1983
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Mistress Page
1982
Outside Edge
Miriam
1982
Doris and Doreen
Doris Rutter
1978
The Boys from Brazil
Mrs. Harrington
1978
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Glynis
1978
The Achurch Letters
Florence Farr
1977
The Littlest Horse Thieves
Mrs. Sandman
1976
The Apple Cart
Queen Jemima
1975
The Ring of Truth
Babs Pickard
1973
Waltz of the Toreadors
Estella Fitzjohn
1962
Room at the Top
Council Office Worker (uncredited)
1958
The Crowded Day
Customer
1954
What Every Woman Wants
Mary
1954
Hobson's Choice
Vicky Hobson
1954
Laxdale Hall
Morag McLeod
1953