All Creatures Great and Small star Samuel West has spoken out, following the "very sad" loss of his beloved mother and Fawlty Towers legend, Prunella Scales. The actress, who was also known for presenting Channel 4's Great Canal Journeys, died at the age of 93 on Monday, 27 October. Prunella's passing came almost one year after her husband of 61 years, Shakespearean stage actor Timothy West. "I'm about to open as Malvolio in the RSC's Twelfth Night at the Barbican for Christmas, and the thought that neither of them will see it…," Samuel said on BBC Radio 4's Last Word.
© Dan Wooller/Shutterstock"I mean, the first time we did it, it was just after my father's death, and I sort of did it for him, but the idea that neither of them will see it now makes me very sad, but I mean, they'll see it somehow," he continued. "People said after her death, they'll be reunited in heaven, cruising canals, but actually, knowing my parents, I think they're much more likely to be touring some agitprop play."
Together, Prunella and Timothy hosted Great Canal Journeys, which ran from 2014 to 2019. During the programme, the couple also spoke openly about Prunella's health, after she was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013. "When they came to do Great Canal Journeys, they'd really been on the canals for 30 years, I think, and knew roughly what they were doing," Samuel mused.
© Geoff Pugh/Shutterstock"It was quite unusual to have older people on television who aren't a focus of either tragedy or comedy, for them being about to die or not being able to do something properly. And although they did hit the odd boat, the only sadness at that time was that my mother was suffering from a sort of dementia.
"And I remember saying to my dad, when they did the first episode, 'You're going to have to discuss this on camera with ma in a two shot, so that you're both together, and we know that you're not discussing it behind her back'. And he said, 'Really? I mean, it's an open secret in the profession'. And I said, 'Yeah, but I think outside the profession it's a real secret. I think you'd be surprised'. And when the first episode came out, it was front page news on the Daily Express and the Daily Mail that my mother had dementia."
© Getty ImagesSamuel added, "My father maintained that it was a programme about industrial architecture. But I think he was only being a bit disingenuous. We who had seen it and loved it and became addicted to it, and indeed, in my case, appeared in a few episodes, knew that it was a love story."
Samuel West and Joseph West's statement this week
It was Samuel and Joseph West who confirmed that their mother, Prunella, had died. Releasing a statement, they said: "Our darling mother Prunella Scales died peacefully at home in London yesterday. She was 93. Although dementia forced her retirement from a remarkable acting career of nearly 70 years, she continued to live at home.
© James Gourley/Shutterstock"She was watching Fawlty Towers the day before she died. Pru was married to Timothy West for 61 years. He died in November 2024. She is survived by two sons and one stepdaughter, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. We would like to thank all those who gave Pru such wonderful care at the end of her life: her last days were comfortable, contented and surrounded by love."
