Inside Timothy West and Prunella Scales' family life including famous son Samuel

On Tuesday 28 October, it was confirmed that Prunella Scales had passed away at the age of 93. The actress, who is best remembered as Sybil Fawlty in hit sitcom Fawlty Towers, had been diagnosed with vascular dementia back in 2014. The star passed away less than a year after her husband of 61 years, Timothy West, who died last year at the age of 90. During their life, the couple welcomed two children, including the actor Samuel West, who has appeared in All Creatures Great and Small. Prunella was also a stepmother to Timothy's daughter, Juliet, who acted as the late actress' hair stylist. Keep reading to find out all you need to know about the couple's children below. 

Samuel West

Samuel is an actor who is perhaps best known for playing Siegfried Farnon in Channel 5's hit period drama, All Creatures Great and Small. The 59-year-old boasts an impressive acting career both on the stage and on-screen and is recognised for his roles in Slow Horses, Notting Hill, The Darkest Hour, Mr Selfridge, and The Crown. 

Away from the cameras, he's in a long-term relationship with award-winning playwright and screenwriter Laura Wade, who recently worked as a writer and executive producer on Disney+'s 80s-set drama, Rivals. The couple shared two daughters, born in 2014 and 2017.

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Sharing an insight into his loving childhood, Samuel spoke of his gratitude towards his parents during a previous interview with The Guardian. "My parents gave me a belief in curiosity, for which I've always been grateful, and a very loving childhood," he said. "Pa would encourage our hobbies, like cricket and music, while Ma would get up at 6am to help me with my Greek homework – because, unlike Pa, she had not been to university and took a vicarious pleasure in me getting to Oxford."

© Helen Williams / Playground Television / Channel 5 Television

Joseph West

Joseph is Timothy and Prunella's second son. Unlike his brother and parents, Joseph decided to pursue a career away from the entertainment industry. After achieving a first-class degree in French at Manchester University, he married a French lector and settled down in France, where he works as a teacher. He and his wife share three children. 

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Prunella previously spoke of how proud she was of her son and daughter-in-law. "I'm very proud and happy that they are teachers as we need good teachers," she told The Guardian. "They have three children who speak very good English but it's a little bit posh, actor's English – I think they'll have to modify it if they work over here. I love being a grandmother."

© David M. Benett

According to Samuel, Joseph is a "charming and beautiful person" who "was a bit less serious" than his older brother when they were growing up. "I think he found all the discussions at home about acting rather boring, so he [expletive] off to Manchester, then Cornwall and later to France, where he lives with his wife and three children and works as a teacher and translator," he told The Guardian in 2011, adding: "He always knew his own mind."

Juliet West

Juliet is Timothy's first child, whom he shares with his ex-wife, actress Jacqueline Boyer. Like Joseph, Juliet didn't follow in her parents' footsteps and now works as a hairdresser. Back in 2011, Samuel revealed that Juliet, who is ten years his senior, is a mum of two. He also credited his half-sister for his taste in music. "I got all my tastes in music from our half-sister, Juliet, who was into bands like Pink Floyd and Sparks. She's my father's daughter from his first marriage and came to live with us on and off when I was eight," he told The Guardian. 

© Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Getty Images

Juliet worked with her dad and step-mum on their Channel 4 documentary, Great Canal Journeys, after asking producers if she could do Prunella's hair and make-up for the show.  Speaking to The Times in 2023, Samuel recalled: "She called the producers and said, 'Look, my mum's now dead. Pru doesn't have a daughter. I don't have a mum. I don't see enough of my dad. How about I come along with you and look after Pru's hair and make-up?' And they, not looking a gift horse in the mouth, said, 'Yes, brilliant idea.'"

Samuel went on to praise Juliet's work on the show. "There are clips of her talking and she's by far the most natural and funny of all of them," he said. "She spent a wonderful time on it and saw a lot of my dad." He added that Juliet's daughter and her family lived in the flat below Timothy and Prunella's house until recently.