- Prunella Scales
Infobox actor
name = Prunella Scales
caption = Prunella Scales in Fawlty Towers
birthname = Prunella Margaret Rumney Illingworth
birthdate =June 22 ,1932 (age 76)
birthplace = Sutton Abinger,Surrey ,England
othername = Prunella Scales CBE
occupation = Actress, Comedienne
yearsactive = 1952–present
spouse =Timothy West (1963—)
children =Samuel West
Joe WestPrunella Margaret Rumney Illingworth CBE (born
22 June 1932 ) is an English actress.She is probably best known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife Sybil in the British
comedy "Fawlty Towers ".She is also known for her award-nominated role as Elizabeth II the British
film "A Question of Attribution ".She has had a long and distinguished career as an actress mostly in comic roles. Her early film roles included "Pride and Prejudice" and "Hobson's Choice".
Her first career break came with the early 1960s sitcom, "
Marriage Lines " starring oppositeRichard Briers . She has had major roles inBBC Radio 4 sitcoms, most notably "After Henry", "Smelling of Roses " and "Ladies of Letters "; on television she starred in theLondon Weekend Television /Channel 4 series "Mapp & Lucia " based on the bestselling novels byE. F. Benson . She played Queen Elizabeth II inAlan Bennett 's "A Question of Attribution ". In 1973, Scales teamed up with BBC Television actor & comedianRonnie Barker in the (original) award-winning one-off "Meat", which aired as "One Man's Meat" and was part of a series called "Seven of One ", also for the BBC. Her film appearances also include "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne " (1987) "Stiff Upper Lips " (1997) and "Howard's End " (1992). More recently she was seen in a series ofTesco supermarket commercials as a domineering mother, Dottie Turnbull, withJane Horrocks as her long-suffering daughter.Scales narrowly missed out on the role of "Eth" in "The Glums", part of "
Take It From Here ", written byFrank Muir andDenis Norden ; the role went toJune Whitfield .She is married to the British actor
Timothy West , and has two sons; their elder son is the actor and directorSamuel West . In 2003, she appeared as Hilda, alias "she who must be obeyed", wife of Horace Rumpole in a series of four BBC Radio 4 plays, with her husband playing her fictional husband. Prunella Scales and Timothy West touredAustralia at the same time in different productions. Scales appeared in a one-woman show called "An Evening with Queen Victoria".Scales is a supporter of the Labour Party, and appeared on a Labour
party political broadcast during the 2005 UK general election campaign. She is also a loyal supporter of theSOS Children's Villages charity. [ [http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/sos-childrens-charity/our-friends/ SOS Children's Villages - Our friends] ]Her authorised biography, "Prunella", written by
Teresa Ransom , was published by John Murray in 2005. [ [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prunella-Authorised-Biography-Scales/dp/071955697X Amazon.co.uk - Prunella] ] She is also a patron of theLace Market Theatre inNottingham , United Kingdom. In 2005 she named theP&O cruise ship, "Artemis". [ [http://www.pocruises.com/pocruising/learnmore-artemis-ship-statistics.aspx P&O Cruises - Artemis] ] On16 November 2007 , Prunella Scales made an appearance duringChildren in Need , acting as Sybil Fawlty, the new manager who wants to take over Hotel Babylon.External links
*imdb name|id=0768795|name=Prunella Scales
* [http://www.fawltysite.net/sybil_fawlty.htm Scales as Sybil Fawlty]
* [http://www.wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk/our_plays.php?cid=4 Prunella Scales' latest role in The Youth Of Old Age]References
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