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Prunella Scales

Prunella Scales

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 husba

Born

Jun 22, 1932

Sutton Abinger, Surrey, England, UK

Died

Oct 27, 2025

Known For

Acting

Movies

64 acting

0 crew

Popularity

0.7

movie

Known For

Emma

Emma

1996

as Miss Bates
Howards End

Howards End

1992

as Aunt Juley
Wolf

Wolf

1994

as Maude Waggins
Hobson's Choice

Hobson's Choice

1954

as Vicky Hobson
The Boys from Brazil

The Boys from Brazil

1978

as Mrs. Harrington
Room at the Top

Room at the Top

1958

as Council Office Worker (uncredited)
Emma
Emma
1996 • as Miss Bates
★ 6.6
Howards End
Howards End
1992 • as Aunt Juley
★ 7.0
Wolf
Wolf
1994 • as Maude Waggins
★ 6.1
Hobson's Choice
Hobson's Choice
1954 • as Vicky Hobson
★ 7.4
The Boys from Brazil
The Boys from Brazil
1978 • as Mrs. Harrington
★ 6.7
Room at the Top
Room at the Top
1958 • as Council Office Worker (uncredited)
★ 6.9
An Awfully Big Adventure
An Awfully Big Adventure
1995 • as Rose
★ 6.5
Horrid Henry: The Movie
Horrid Henry: The Movie
2011 • as Great Aunt Greta
★ 5.2
Mad Cows
Mad Cows
1999 • as Dr. Minny Stinkler
★ 3.9
Second Best
Second Best
1994 • as Margery
★ 6.7
The Wicked Lady
The Wicked Lady
1983 • as Lady Kingsclere
★ 4.8
Freddie As F.R.O.7.
Freddie As F.R.O.7.
1992 • as Queen (voice)
★ 5.2
Run For Your Wife
Run For Your Wife
2012 • as Woman in Pub
★ 4.4
movie
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
2005 • as Sybil Fawlty (archive footage) (uncredited)
★ 6.0
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles
1978 • as Glynis
★ 4.3
Stiff Upper Lips
Stiff Upper Lips
1998 • as Aunt Agnes
★ 5.2
The Phone Call
The Phone Call
2013 • as Joan
★ 7.3
Sub Rosa
Sub Rosa
2014 • as Madame
★ 5.0
A Chorus of Disapproval
A Chorus of Disapproval
1989 • as Hannah Ap Llewellyn
★ 5.3
Fair Game
Fair Game
1994 • as Marjorie
★ 3.8
A Question of Attribution
A Question of Attribution
1991 • as H.M.Q.
★ 6.7
Consuming Passions
Consuming Passions
1988 • as Ethel
★ 8.0
movie
Lord of Misrule
1996 • as Shirley
movie
Laxdale Hall
1953 • as Morag McLeod
★ 6.0
Breaking the Code
Breaking the Code
1996 • as Sara Turing
★ 5.2
movie
The Apple Cart
1975 • as Queen Jemima
movie
Station Jim
2001 • as Queen Victoria
★ 7.0
The Shell Seekers
The Shell Seekers
2007 • as Dolly Keeling
★ 6.9
An Ideal Husband
An Ideal Husband
1999 • as Lady Markby
★ 6.4
The Crowded Day
The Crowded Day
1954 • as Customer
★ 5.4
Bosses From Hell
Bosses From Hell
1989
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor
1982 • as Mistress Page
★ 8.0
50 Years of BBC Two Comedy
50 Years of BBC Two Comedy
2014 • as Self
★ 8.0
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
2009 • as Self / Sybil Fawlty
★ 8.4
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
★ 6.5
Communicators From Hell
Communicators From Hell
1989
Mr. Loveday's Little Outing
Mr. Loveday's Little Outing
2006 • as Lady Moping
The Littlest Horse Thieves
The Littlest Horse Thieves
1976 • as Mrs. Sandman
★ 6.8
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson
1990 • as Fleecy Flock
Waltz of the Toreadors
Waltz of the Toreadors
1962 • as Estella Fitzjohn
★ 4.8
Outside Edge
Outside Edge
1982 • as Miriam
★ 6.0
What the Pythons Did Next...
What the Pythons Did Next...
2007 • as Self
What Every Woman Wants
What Every Woman Wants
1954 • as Mary
★ 6.3
What the Butler Saw
What the Butler Saw
1987 • as Mrs Prentice
★ 1.0
movie
A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg
2002 • as Grace
Doris and Doreen
Doris and Doreen
1978 • as Doris Rutter
★ 6.0
An Audience with Alf Garnett
An Audience with Alf Garnett
1997
The Cancellation Of Fawlty Towers
The Cancellation Of Fawlty Towers
2025
Absurd Person Singular
Absurd Person Singular
1985 • as Marion Brewster-Wright
★ 8.0
My Friend Walter
My Friend Walter
1992 • as Aunt Ellie
Fawlty Towers Revisited
Fawlty Towers Revisited
2005 • as Herself
★ 5.0
Natural Causes
Natural Causes
1988 • as Celia Bryce
★ 8.0
Home Cooking
Home Cooking
1986 • as Judith
The Achurch Letters
The Achurch Letters
1977 • as Florence Farr
The Ghost of Greville Lodge
The Ghost of Greville Lodge
2000 • as Sarah
★ 6.4
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)
Revolting Rhymes
Revolting Rhymes
1990 • as Narrator
movie
The Ring of Truth
1973 • as Babs Pickard
Dirty Beasts
Dirty Beasts
1990 • as Narrator
Slimming Down
Slimming Down
1984 • as Mrs. Shrigley
Beyond The Pale
Beyond The Pale
1989 • as Milly
movie
Singles
1983 • as Gail
★ 6.0
movie
Think
2007 • as Customer