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Prunella Scales

ACTOR · FROM SUTTON ABINGER, UK

Prunella Scales

1932–202597 credits since 1952

FunnyQuirkyBittersweetPeriod pieceMelancholic

See the filmography

In the pictureFawlty Towers

ABOUT PRUNELLA

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.

Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA. Credits and photos from TMDB.

Born22 June 1932

Died27 October 2025

BirthplaceSutton Abinger, UK

Known forActing

On Cineora32 of 97 titles

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Prunella Scales elsewhere

IMDb
Wikidata

Known for

The titles people know Prunella from.

Fawlty Towers poster

Series

1975–1979IMDb8.8

Howards End poster

Movie

1992IMDb7.3

Hobson's Choice poster

Movie

Hobson's Choice

1954IMDb7.7

The Phone Call poster

Movie

2013IMDb7.4

An Awfully Big Adventure poster

Movie

An Awfully Big Adventure

1995IMDb5.8

Second Best poster

Movie

1994IMDb6.8

The Wicked Lady poster

Movie

The Wicked Lady

1983IMDb4.9

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne poster

Movie

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne

1987IMDb7.0

Stiff Upper Lips poster

Movie

Stiff Upper Lips

1998IMDb6.1

A Chorus of Disapproval poster

Movie

A Chorus of Disapproval

1989IMDb5.5

Freddie As F.R.O.7. poster

Movie

Freddie As F.R.O.7.

1992IMDb5.1

Waltz of the Toreadors poster

Movie

Waltz of the Toreadors

1962IMDb5.8

Career

IMDb rating of each title on Cineora, by year.

Titles on Cineora: 32
Average IMDb: 6.5
Highest rated: Fawlty TowersIMDb 8.8
Working since: 1952

Size: how widely seen

Filmography

97 credits

The 2010s

4 titles · IMDb 4.6 on average

Not on Cineora

Sub Rosa

2014

as Madame

The Phone Call poster

Movie

2013IMDb7.4

as Joan

Run For Your Wife poster

Movie

Run For Your Wife

2012IMDb2.7

as Woman in Pub

Horrid Henry: The Movie poster

Movie

Horrid Henry: The Movie

2011IMDb3.8

as Great Aunt Greta

The 2000s

10 titles · IMDb 7.7 on average

Not on Cineora

The Shell Seekers

2007

as Dolly Keeling

Think

Not on Cineora

Think

2007

as Customer

Not on Cineora

Mr. Loveday's Little Outing

2006

as Lady Moping

The Funny Blokes of British Comedy

Not on Cineora

The Funny Blokes of British Comedy

2005

as Sybil Fawlty (archive footage) (uncredited)

Agatha Christie's Marple poster

Series

Agatha Christie's Marple

2004–2013IMDb7.9

as Mrs Mackenzie · 1 episode

The Royal poster

Series

2003–2011IMDb7.5

as Red Admiral · 1 episode

Not on Cineora

Dickens

2002

as Elizabeth Dickens · 1 episode

Not on Cineora

A Day in the Death of Joe Egg

2002

as Grace

The 1990s

29 titles · IMDb 6.6 on average

Mad Cows poster

Movie

1999IMDb4.0

as Dr. Minny Stinkler

Not on Cineora

An Ideal Husband

1999

as Lady Markby

Stiff Upper Lips poster

Movie

Stiff Upper Lips

1998IMDb6.1

as Aunt Agnes

Not on Cineora

Keeping Mum

1997

as Marjorie · 1 episode

Not on Cineora

An Audience with Alf Garnett

1997

Midsomer Murders poster

Series

Midsomer Murders

1997–IMDb7.9

as Eleanor Bunsall · 1 episode

Emma poster

Movie

1996IMDb7.0

as Miss Bates

Breaking the Code poster

Movie

Breaking the Code

1996IMDb7.1

as Sara Turing

The 1980s

28 titles · IMDb 6.2 on average

Not on Cineora

Screen One

1989

as H.M.Q. · 1 episode

Not on Cineora

Beyond The Pale

1989

as Milly

A Chorus of Disapproval poster

Movie

A Chorus of Disapproval

1989IMDb5.5

as Hannah Ap Llewellyn

Not on Cineora

Bosses From Hell

1989

Not on Cineora

Communicators From Hell

1989

Thompson

Not on Cineora

Thompson

1988

1 episode

Not on Cineora

Natural Causes

1988

as Celia Bryce

Not on Cineora

Consuming Passions

1988

as Ethel

The 1970s

15 titles · IMDb 6.8 on average

Not on Cineora

Doris and Doreen

1978

as Doris Rutter

Not on Cineora

The BBC Television Shakespeare

1978

as Mistress Page · 1 episode

The Boys from Brazil poster

Movie

The Boys from Brazil

1978IMDb7.0

as Mrs. Harrington

The Hound of the Baskervilles poster

Movie

The Hound of the Baskervilles

1978IMDb4.5

as Glynis

Not on Cineora

Pickersgill People

1978

as Mavis Blackhead · 1 episode

Not on Cineora

Target

1977

as Diana Blake · 1 episode

Not on Cineora

The Achurch Letters

1977

as Florence Farr

Mr Big

Not on Cineora

Mr Big

1977

as Dolly · 13 episodes

The 1960s

5 titles · IMDb 5.8 on average

Not on Cineora

BBC Play of the Month

1965

as Queen Jemima · 1 episode

Not on Cineora

Thirty-Minute Theatre

1965

as Marie · 1 episode

Waltz of the Toreadors poster

Movie

Waltz of the Toreadors

1962IMDb5.8

as Estella Fitzjohn

Faces of Jim

Not on Cineora

Faces of Jim

1961

as Laura Morrell · 1 episode

Not on Cineora

Marriage Lines

1961

as Kate Starling · 43 episodes

The 1950s

6 titles · IMDb 7.6 on average

Room at the Top poster

Movie

Room at the Top

1958IMDb7.5

as Council Office Worker (uncredited)

Not on Cineora

The Crowded Day

1954

as Customer

Not on Cineora

What Every Woman Wants

1954

as Mary

Hobson's Choice poster

Movie

Hobson's Choice

1954IMDb7.7

as Vicky Hobson

Laxdale Hall

Not on Cineora

Laxdale Hall

1953

as Morag McLeod

Not on Cineora

Pride and Prejudice

1952

as Lydia Bennet · 4 episodes

Often works with

The people who keep turning up in Prunella’s titles.

Denholm ElliottThe Boys from Brazil, The Wicked Lady and 1 more

Anthony HopkinsHowards End and A Chorus of Disapproval

Samuel WestHowards End and Stiff Upper Lips

Georgina CatesAn Awfully Big Adventure and Stiff Upper Lips

Alun ArmstrongAn Awfully Big Adventure and Breaking the Code

John NettlesMidsomer Murders and Bergerac

Richard BriersA Chorus of Disapproval and Run For Your Wife

Michael WinnerDirector · The Wicked Lady and A Chorus of Disapproval

Jack ClaytonDirector · Room at the Top and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne

Raymond HuntleyRoom at the Top and Waltz of the Toreadors