3 hours ago
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‘It’s the only conversation with an actor I remember’
In the 70s I wrote radio plays. Prunella Scales was in one of them. During a break I was doing a crossword and getting stuck. She sat down next to me and had a look at the mess I was making. “Silly boy!” she said (I was perhaps 30 at the time). “It’s ‘surprise’, not ‘suprise’!” and we soon finished it off. In the end I did around 25 plays, but that’s the only conversation with an actor I remember. Lovely lady. James, Sussex
‘She winked at me – what confidence that gave me’
When I was about 12, a pupil at Nonsuch High School in Ewell, my art teacher entered a piece of my work into an art competition. The brief was to design a Christmas card. My entry was a painting of Mary on a donkey with Joseph in an American-style cityscape, like the Sunset Strip, with city lights and signs around them. I’ve no idea where that idea came from. Anyway, I came second and went somewhere in central London to the awards do, where Prunella Scales was the celebrity congratulating us and giving out the awards. As she shook my hand, she whispered, “I liked yours best!” and gave me a wink. What confidence that gave me. I became an art teacher. Deborah Harris, artist and retired art teacher, Somerset
‘That laugh!’
We have been fortunate enough to watch Fawlty Towers on PBS in America. It never got old, enjoying her as Sybil over and over again. And, OMG, that laugh! To have lost a talent and wit such as hers in the same month as Patricia Routledge is truly sad. David, Vermont, USA
‘Her accents were wonderful’
I love listening to audiobooks and an early treasure I had on CD was Prunella Scales reading Jane Austen’s Emma. In this unabridged rendition, her different accents for the characters were wonderful and brought out the comedy in the novel, with Miss Bates completely distinctive in pace and Mrs Elton’s Birmingham roots hilariously apparent. Clare Fisher, Wales
‘Her chemistry with John Cleese was perfect’
The comic genius of Prunella Scales as Sybil in Fawlty Towers brought Australian families together in the 1970s and 80s. Her on-screen chemistry with John Cleese as Basil was perfect. Decades later, I appreciated the breadth of her acting when she graced the stage in Sydney in her one-woman play An Evening With Queen Victoria. She’ll be missed. Vanessa Witton, Sydney, Australia
‘She did what she had always done; perform brilliantly’
A few years ago, perhaps 15, I attended an arts festival in the South Downs. The event featured poetry with music from a string quartet. The readers were Timothy West [her husband] and Prunella Scales; I think the overall theme was love, appropriately. A magical evening, with few hints of Pru’s emerging condition. A perfect, unhurried setting for her to do what she had always done; perform brilliantly. Adrian, Southampton
‘Do call me Pru’
In my teens I was involved with the Chester Summer music festival. Visiting artists often stayed with festival helpers, and after her play An Evening With Queen Victoria I was invited to supper at her hosts’ home. I was surprised to be sat next to her. She said: “do call me Pru”, and we had a wonderful conversation. She was charmingly inquisitive about my future plans and not remotely “starry”. I treasure that memory. Andrew, Reading
‘She spread magic’
As well her fabulous acting, Prunella and Timothy did much to promote our amazing canal networks. I myself lived on a narrowboat for four years, continuously cruising between Essex, London, up and down the Thames, into the Midlands and Gas Street Basin, back to Oxford, and the Kennet and Avon to Bath. Thanks to Pru and Timothy for spreading the word about how precious our waterways are and what a magical environment they can be. It is important that someone like Pru is remembered not just for her exceptional acting talent but for other issues, such as our canals, that she was passionate about. Cathy Elder, Cardiff
