In a somber announcement, the family of Prunella Scales, the beloved actress revered for her role as the sharp-witted Sybil Fawlty in the iconic British sitcom “Fawlty Towers,” shared the news of her passing on Tuesday. Scales, who had been battling dementia, was 93 years old.

Scales’ sons, Samuel and Joseph West, confirmed that she passed away peacefully at her London residence on Monday. Despite the challenges posed by dementia, which led to her retirement after a stellar acting career spanning nearly seven decades, she continued to find comfort at home. Remarkably, she was watching an episode of “Fawlty Towers” the day before her death.

Throughout her illustrious career, Scales graced both the big and small screens. She appeared in early films such as the 1952 adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” and the 1954 comedy “Hobson’s Choice.” Her breakthrough in television came in the 1960s with the sitcom “Marriage Lines,” where she began to carve her niche as a talented comedic actress.

However, it was her role in “Fawlty Towers” that cemented her place in television history. As the perpetually exasperated wife of the hapless Basil Fawlty, portrayed by John Cleese, Scales brought to life the chaotic yet hilariously dysfunctional world of a seaside hotel. Despite only 12 episodes being produced between 1975 and 1979, the show remains a benchmark of comedic brilliance, frequently celebrated as one of the greatest sitcoms ever made.

In “Fawlty Towers” she played the exasperated wife of hapless Basil Fawlty, played by John Cleese, whose efforts to run a seaside hotel inevitably escalated into chaos. Only 12 episodes were made, in 1975 and 1979, but it is regularly cited as one of the funniest sitcoms of all time.

Later roles included Queen Elizabeth II in “A Question of Attribution,” Alan Bennett’s stage and TV drama about the queen’s art adviser, Anthony Blunt, who was also a Soviet spy. Scales played another British monarch in the one-woman stage show “An Evening with Queen Victoria.”

Scales was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013. Between 2014 and 2019, she and her husband, actor Timothy West, explored waterways in Britain and abroad in the gentle travel show “Great Canal Journeys.” The program was praised for the way it honestly depicted Scales’ dementia.

West died in November 2024. Scales is survived by her sons, stepdaughter Juliet West, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.