Timothy West’s wife, Fawlty Towers star Prunella Scales, is “not well enough” to understand that her husband has died according to their son, Samuel. Actor Timothy died last month aged 90, but while he was still alive he was a carer to his other half after she was diagnosed with dementia.
The legendary star of stage and screen died “peacefully in his sleep” on November 12. The ‘Day of the Jackal’ star’s death was confirmed in a statement by his agent and three children, Samuel, Juliet, and Joseph.
It read: “After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening. He was 90 years old.
“Tim was with friends and family at the end. He leaves his wife Prunella Scales, to whom he was married for 61 years, a sister, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren.
“All of us will miss him terribly. We would like to thank the incredible NHS staff at St George’s Hospital, Tooting and at Avery Wandsworth for their loving care during his last days.”
Speaking about how his mother, 92, is dealing with the death, Samuel told The Sunday Times: “All I am going to say is she’s not really well enough to take it all in.”
The famous couple met back in the early 1960s on the set of period TV drama She Died Young. On Loose Women last year, Timothy revealed that when he and Prunella were in between takes, they would spend their time doing crosswords and writing letters to one another.
At the time, he said: “We love writing letters about something that the other person might have missed or not quite understood. We would make each other laugh and make each other find out about things.”
They tied the knot in 1963 as Timothy documented their story in Pru & Me: A Love Story, a book released last year marking their diamond anniversary.
However, in 2014, Timothy had to take on the role of carer as well as husband to Prunella, was formally diagnosed with vascular dementia – an umbrella term used to describe a range of progressive neurological disorders (those affecting the brain) which impact memory, thinking and behaviour.
In an interview with the BBC last year, Timothy said he recalled every word of that life-changing moment when a doctor finally diagnosed her condition. He explained: “We went to see a specialist who said, ‘Sorry, this is just something which happens to you when you are older and it’s not going to get any easier, but you can cope with it. Don’t let it get you down.'”