British actress Prunella Scales, best known for playing the formidable Sybil Fawlty in comedy show 'Fawlty Towers', has died age 93, her sons said in a statement on Tuesday. She had been suffering from dementia.
Sybil was the wife of John Cleese's Basil Fawlty, in the show's two series made in 1975 and 1979. Set in a dysfunctional hotel in the seaside resort of Torquay, it became one of Britain's best-known comedies and was shown around the world.
It continues to be broadcast and referenced in popular culture now.
"Our darling mother Prunella Scales died peacefully at home in London yesterday," her two sons said in a statement.
"She was watching Fawlty Towers the day before she died."
Scales was married to actor Timothy West for 61 years, who died last November.
Fawlty Towers was named as the greatest ever British TV sitcom by the Radio Times magazine in 2019. It was developed into a theatre production in Australia in 2016, and it moved to London's West End in 2024.
In the show, Sybil was often on the phone saying "Ooooh I knoooow", her braying laugh described by Basil's character as akin to "someone machine-gunning a seal".
Her seven-decade acting career included multiple roles from the 1950s, including in 1960s sitcom 'Marriage Lines'. She starred in the 1992 Oscar-winning film 'Howards End' alongside her son, the actor Samuel West.
In the 2010s, Scales and her husband travelled on their narrowboat in the 'Great Canal Journeys' TV series.
She was born in Surrey in 1932 and started her acting career at The Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol.
The U.S. military is redirecting at least three Iranian-flagged tankers after intercepting them in Asian w...
The European Union adopted its 20th package of sanctions against Russia on Thursday (23 April), introducing sweeping new restrictions aimed at weak...
European Union leaders were set to discuss the bloc’s mutual assistance clause at a summit in southern Cyprus on Thursday, as U.S. President ...
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders have approved Paramount Skydance’s proposed takeover of the media group, advancing a deal valued at rough...
International cyber agencies on Thursday (23 April) urged organisations to strengthen defences against covert networks used by China-linked hackers...
The U.S. military is redirecting at least three Iranian-flagged tankers after intercepting them in Asian waters near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tehran said U.S. breaches, blockades and threats are undermining “genuine negotiations.”
We are not witnessing another cyclical downturn or a temporary geopolitical disturbance. What we are living through is far more profound: a systemic recalibration of the global order. Three long-standing assumptions have quietly collapsed.
The European Union adopted its 20th package of sanctions against Russia on Thursday (23 April), introducing sweeping new restrictions aimed at weakening Moscow’s war economy and limiting its capacity to sustain the war in Ukraine.
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders have approved Paramount Skydance’s proposed takeover of the media group, advancing a deal valued at roughly $110 billion including debt in a move that could reshape Hollywood and the global entertainment industry.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards targeted three vessels, seizing two of them for alleged maritime violations and transferring them to Iranian shores, as U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington is extending its ceasefire with Iran until Tehran submits a proposal.
The U.S. military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters and is redirecting them away from their positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday, exclusively to Reuters.
Two local trains collided head-on north of Copenhagen on Thursday (23 April), injuring 17 people, five of them critically, according to emergency services.
The U.S. military is redirecting at least three Iranian-flagged tankers after intercepting them in Asian waters near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tehran said U.S. breaches, blockades and threats are undermining “genuine negotiations.”
The European Union is preparing its 20th round of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine. The measures are close to being approved, after earlier delays linked to energy concerns in Slovakia and Hungary eased following repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline.
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders have approved Paramount Skydance’s proposed takeover of the media group, advancing a deal valued at roughly $110 billion including debt in a move that could reshape Hollywood and the global entertainment industry.
The 2,500-year-old Golden Helmet of Coțofenești and two ancient gold bracelets have been returned to Romanian authorities after being stolen from a Dutch museum in January last year.
The architect of the modern K-pop boom, Bang Si-hyuk, is facing arrest by South Korean police over claims he illegally gained millions in an investor fraud scheme.
Musician D4vd has been charged with first-degree murder over the death of a teenage girl whose dismembered remains were found inside a car linked to him, prosecutors in Los Angeles County have said.
Grammy-winning hip-hop artist Kanye West has postponed his upcoming concert in Marseille, France, “until further notice”, amid mounting political opposition and renewed controversy over his past remarks.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment