The British comedy world bid farewell to an icon last October with the passing of Prunella Scales at the age of 93. It has since emerged that the beloved Fawlty Towers star left more than £3 million in her will.
The actress, who had dementia, left a gross estate of £3,376,585, with a net value of £3,166,554, according to probate records.
© Getty ImagesHer beneficiaries are her two sons, Joseph and Samuel, who is also an actor, and her stepdaughter Juliet.
Her sons will receive 40 per cent each of her estate, while her stepdaughter is to receive 20 per cent.
The BAFTA-nominated star also left money to her goddaughters, as well as several charities.
© Helen Williams / Playground Television / Channel 5 TelevisionThe Snipe Charitable Trust, which provides grants to charitable organisations and furthering education and training of young persons in the arts, will receive £10,000. The RHS and the Campaign to Protect Rural England will receive £1,000, and the Combined Theatrical Charities Appeals Council will receive £5,000.
Prunella's longstanding career
Prunella landed her big break in the early 1960s sitcom, Marriage Lines. This paved the way for a string of roles in BBC Radio 4 sitcoms, including After Henry, Smelling Of Roses and Ladies Of Letters, and small-screen parts in Channel 4's Mapp & Lucia and an episode of the comedy series, Seven of One.
Her most notable TV role, however, was playing Sybil Fawlty in the BBC comedy Fawlty Towers, which propelled her to global fame. The series ran for twelve episodes over two series from 1975 to 1979.
© Alamy Stock PhotoThe actress also boasts an impressive list of film credits, including 1992's Howards End, in which she starred opposite Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter and her son, Samuel West. She also appeared in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978), The Wicked Lady (1983) and The Boys From Brazil (1978).
Prunella's husband Timothy West
Prunella met her husband, actor Timothy West, while starring in the BBC period television play, She Died Young, in 1961. The actress has previously described their romance as "a mild Times crossword and Polo mints flirtation".
© GettyTogether, the pair filmed ten series of the Channel 4 programme Great Canal Journeys, in which they travelled across the UK and other parts of the world exploring different waterways.
© Mirrorpix, GettyThe show ran from 2014 until 2020, when Prunella's dementia reportedly progressed to the point where they couldn't continue.
