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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

1.2

movie

Known For

Wolf

Wolf

1994

as Maude Waggins
Howards End

Howards End

1992

as Aunt Juley
The Boys from Brazil

The Boys from Brazil

1978

as Mrs. Harrington
Emma

Emma

1996

as Miss Bates
Hobson's Choice

Hobson's Choice

1954

as Vicky Hobson
Room at the Top

Room at the Top

1958

as Council Office Worker (uncredited)
Wolf
Wolf
1994 • as Maude Waggins
★ 6.1
Howards End
Howards End
1992 • as Aunt Juley
★ 7.0
The Boys from Brazil
The Boys from Brazil
1978 • as Mrs. Harrington
★ 6.7
Emma
Emma
1996 • as Miss Bates
★ 6.6
Hobson's Choice
Hobson's Choice
1954 • as Vicky Hobson
★ 7.4
Sub Rosa
Sub Rosa
2014 • as Madame
★ 5.0
Horrid Henry: The Movie
Horrid Henry: The Movie
2011 • as Great Aunt Greta
★ 5.2
Room at the Top
Room at the Top
1958 • as Council Office Worker (uncredited)
★ 6.9
Second Best
Second Best
1994 • as Margery
★ 6.8
Consuming Passions
Consuming Passions
1988 • as Ethel
★ 8.3
An Awfully Big Adventure
An Awfully Big Adventure
1995 • as Rose
★ 6.5
Fair Game
Fair Game
1994 • as Marjorie
★ 4.8
The Wicked Lady
The Wicked Lady
1983 • as Lady Kingsclere
★ 4.9
The Shell Seekers
The Shell Seekers
2007 • as Dolly Keeling
★ 6.9
Freddie As F.R.O.7.
Freddie As F.R.O.7.
1992 • as Queen (voice)
★ 5.2
Natural Causes
Natural Causes
1988 • as Celia Bryce
★ 8.0
Dirty Beasts
Dirty Beasts
1990 • as Narrator
A Chorus of Disapproval
A Chorus of Disapproval
1989 • as Hannah Ap Llewellyn
★ 5.4
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)
Home Cooking
Home Cooking
1986 • as Judith
movie
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
2005 • as Sybil Fawlty (archive footage) (uncredited)
★ 6.5
What the Pythons Did Next...
What the Pythons Did Next...
2007 • as Self
movie
The Apple Cart
1975 • as Queen Jemima
Run For Your Wife
Run For Your Wife
2012 • as Woman in Pub
★ 4.4
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles
1978 • as Glynis
★ 4.4
The Crowded Day
The Crowded Day
1954 • as Customer
★ 5.8
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor
1982 • as Mistress Page
★ 8.0
An Ideal Husband
An Ideal Husband
1999 • as Lady Markby
★ 6.5
Station Jim
Station Jim
2001 • as Queen Victoria
★ 7.5
Bosses From Hell
Bosses From Hell
1989
Breaking the Code
Breaking the Code
1996 • as Sara Turing
★ 5.6
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
1987 • as Moira O'Neill
★ 6.6
Stiff Upper Lips
Stiff Upper Lips
1998 • as Aunt Agnes
★ 5.6
Revolting Rhymes
Revolting Rhymes
1990 • as Narrator
The Phone Call
The Phone Call
2013 • as Joan
★ 7.3
When We Are Married
When We Are Married
1987 • as Annie Parker
★ 7.0
A Question of Attribution
A Question of Attribution
1991 • as H.M.Q.
★ 6.8
Waltz of the Toreadors
Waltz of the Toreadors
1962 • as Estella Fitzjohn
★ 5.0
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
2009 • as Self / Sybil Fawlty
★ 8.4
50 Years of BBC Two Comedy
50 Years of BBC Two Comedy
2014 • as Self
★ 8.0
movie
Lord of Misrule
1996 • as Shirley
★ 9.0
Mad Cows
Mad Cows
1999 • as Dr. Minny Stinkler
★ 4.4
The Cancellation Of Fawlty Towers
The Cancellation Of Fawlty Towers
2025
My Friend Walter
My Friend Walter
1992 • as Aunt Ellie
★ 7.0
Doris and Doreen
Doris and Doreen
1978 • as Doris Rutter
★ 6.5
The Achurch Letters
The Achurch Letters
1977 • as Florence Farr
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson
1990 • as Fleecy Flock
Mr. Loveday's Little Outing
Mr. Loveday's Little Outing
2006 • as Lady Moping
What Every Woman Wants
What Every Woman Wants
1954 • as Mary
★ 6.6
The Ghost of Greville Lodge
The Ghost of Greville Lodge
2000 • as Sarah
★ 7.0
Fawlty Towers Revisited
Fawlty Towers Revisited
2005 • as Herself
★ 7.5
The Littlest Horse Thieves
The Littlest Horse Thieves
1976 • as Mrs. Sandman
★ 6.9
What the Butler Saw
What the Butler Saw
1987 • as Mrs Prentice
★ 3.0
movie
The Ring of Truth
1973 • as Babs Pickard
Absurd Person Singular
Absurd Person Singular
1985 • as Marion Brewster-Wright
★ 8.3
movie
Laxdale Hall
1953 • as Morag McLeod
★ 7.0
movie
Think
2007 • as Customer
Outside Edge
Outside Edge
1982 • as Miriam
★ 8.0
Communicators From Hell
Communicators From Hell
1989
Slimming Down
Slimming Down
1984 • as Mrs. Shrigley
movie
Singles
1983 • as Gail
★ 6.0
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
2002 • as Grace
An Audience with Alf Garnett
An Audience with Alf Garnett
1997
Beyond The Pale
Beyond The Pale
1989 • as Milly
★ 7.0