Timothy West reveals wife Prunella Scales is still ‘enjoying life’ after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis
Prunella Scales is “still enjoying life” after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2014, her husband, Timothy West, has revealed.
The 90-year-old actress just celebrated her landmark birthday with a huge party with 150 guests and the married couple have recently been island hopping in Greece.
Prunella, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty on Fawlty Towers, ended her 67-year acting career in early 2020 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2014.
Making the most of it: Prunella Scales ‘still enjoying life’ after her 2014 Alzheimer’s diagnosis, husband Timothy West revealed (pictured at The Oldie of the Year Awards)
Speaking about his life now, former Corrie star Timothy, 88, said Mirror at The Oldie of the Year Awards: ‘She enjoys life, which is really essential. She likes to do things.
“We just did a little boat trip around the Greek islands, we were just having fun without cameras.
‘We had a party this year, quite a big party. About 150 people came!’
It comes after her son Samuel, 56, shared an update on Prunella’s health in December 2021.
Nice! The 90-year-old actress just celebrated her landmark birthday with a huge party with 150 guests and the newlyweds have been island-hopping in Greece.
At the time, the actor had been interviewing Prunella with the intention of writing a book, as her memory begins to fade.
Speaking to The Mirror, Samuel detailed: “She still recognizes us and knows that I have two children, so that’s really good.”
Samuel added that despite his hearing impairment, which makes conversation difficult, he is “in a good mood”.
He continued: “You can never tell with dementia what kind of personality it’s going to leave a person with, but overall it’s pretty light-hearted.” Right now I’m interviewing both of them about their lives, because I want to write a book.’
Star: Prunella, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty on Fawlty Towers, ended her 67-year-old acting career in early 2020 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2014 (pictured with her son Sam in 2012)
Samuel revealed that he spent the lockdown interviewing his father about his life, twice a week, before also interviewing his mother, in order to preserve his memories.
However, he added that due to his mother’s lack of short-term memory, the task was more difficult and he had to be very patient.
Prunella and her husband Timothy were forced to leave their Channel 4 television show Great Canal Journeys due to ill health in January 2020.
They were replaced by Celebrity Gogglebox stars Gyles Brandreth and Sheila Hancock on the Channel 4 show.
Speaking about their departure, a source told The Sun at the time: “It’s not a decision Pru and Tim have made lightly, but they’re delighted it’s Gyles and Sheila.”
Prunella filmed her last show in October 2019, but the couple appeared in more than 30 episodes of the show. The actress became a household name as Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, and the award-winning actress supported her successors.
The couple said in a statement to the publication: ‘Good luck Gyles and Sheila. Enjoy the countryside and the pubs.
Screen legend Prunella revealed in 2013 that she was struggling with her memory and couldn’t even remember the year she married her husband, which was 1963.
Battle hard: Screen legend Prunella revealed in 2013 that she was struggling with her memory and couldn’t even remember the year she married her husband (pictured in 2017)
In a 2015 interview with The Independent, Tim revealed the heartbreak of seeing his wife walk away in the midst of their battle, admitting that while he appreciates the time he spends with her, the effects of the disease make communication difficult.
“The sad thing is that you just watch the gradual disappearance of the person you knew and loved and were very close to,” she said. ‘If you live day to day it is manageable.
“It’s when you start thinking about the past and you’re like, ‘Oh, too bad I can’t do that anymore,’ or you can’t talk about this anymore. So it’s sad.
Tim and Prunella were married in 1963, after meeting on the set of a television drama. Tim had been briefly married before and had a daughter, Juliet. The couple had two children: Sam is an actor and his brother Joseph is a translator.
Couple goals: The couple have been married for nearly six decades (pictured together in 1963)
Today, Prunella’s short-term memory is severely affected, as she often can’t remember things she did or said just minutes before.
Tim’s career continues to flourish as viewers may best recognize him from the soap opera EastEnders, when he was Albert Square patriarch Stan Carter until five years ago.
Most recently, he played squire Jeremy Lister in the BBC1 period drama Gentleman Jack this year, and Private Godfrey in a trio of Dad’s Army remakes.