Samuel West, the actor son of Prunella Scales and Timothy West, has spoken movingly about the "great outpouring of love" he has received following the deaths of both his parents within a year.
The All Creatures Great And Small star is still processing the loss of his father in November 2024, followed by his mother last month.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, West shared his profound grief: "The really simple stuff, like when they die you won’t see them again. You think you understand what that means, but then they die and you realise you don’t. So it’s all a work in progress really."
He added a poignant, humorous reflection: "We’re meant to bury our parents, aren’t we? We might as well do two in a year, the practice is kind of useful."
Scales, celebrated for her iconic role as Sybil in Fawlty Towers, died aged 93 on October 27, a day after what would have been her 62nd wedding anniversary.
West expressed gratitude for the public's response, noting "the great outpouring of love from people who didn’t know her but to whom her work and her example meant something."
He highlighted the enduring nature of her acting career, telling the programme: "She’s available at all times of her life to us now. It’s peculiar, but it’s also wonderful."
His father, Timothy West, starred in TV shows such as comedy drama Brass, sitcom Not Going Out, and soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders.
Together, the couple captivated audiences in 10 series of Channel 4’s Great Canal Journeys, where they explored waterways and openly discussed Scales’ dementia diagnosis.
West believes the programme offered invaluable support to viewers affected by dementia.
"It dealt with the horrors of dementia honestly at a time when very few things were," he said. "That’s a useful thing to do in the bit of your life, I think."
Following Scales' death, John Cleese described his former co-star as “a really wonderful comic actress,” adding: “Scene after scene she was absolutely perfect.”
“How very sad. Pru was a really wonderful comic actress. I've recently been watching a number of clips of Fawlty Towers whilst researching a book. Scene after scene she was absolutely perfect,” he said in a statement. “She was a very sweet lady, who spent a lot of her life apologising. I used to tease her about it. I was very, very fond of her.”
Samuel West is currently preparing to play Malvolio in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Twelfth Night, opening at London’s Barbican next month.
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