Prunella Scales' will details revealed
Prunella Scales - who died last October aged 93 - left more than £3.1 million in her will.
Prunella Scales left more than £3.1 million in her will.
The Fawlty Towers actress passed away last October at the age of 93 after suffering from vascular dementia and probate documents released on Thursday (13.08.26) and obtained by The Sun online showed she left assets worth £3,376,585 in the UK but a net estate of £3,166,554 after payment of liabilities.
Prunella's will, which was drawn up in October 2020, donated various sums to good causes, including £10,000 to the Snipe Charitable Trust, which promotes the education and training of young people in the arts, £5,000 to the Combined Theatrical Charities Appeal of the Council for the King George V Fund for Actors, and two payments of £1,000 each to the Royal Horticultural Society and the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
Legacies of £2,000 were given to Prunella's two goddaughters, while the remainder of her estate was left in trust.
Shares of 40% each went to her and late husband Timothy West's two sons, Samuel and Joseph, with the remaining 20% given to her stepdaughter Juliet, who was Timothy's only child from his previous marriage to Jacqueline Boyer.
An addition to the will made in 2024 requested the amounts received by her sons and stepdaughter should potentially be reduced if they had received gifts from her or Timothy during their lifetime, specifically taking into account a sum of £300,000 given to Samuel to fund his home renovations.
Trustees were asked to delay selling the actress' home by up to a year to allow her grandson Clement, who was living there, time to move out.
Prunella's death was announced by her sons last October.
They said in a joint statement: "Our darling mother Prunella Scales died peacefully at home in London yesterday. She was 93.
"Although dementia forced her retirement from a remarkable acting career of nearly 70 years, she continued to live at home.
"She was watching Fawlty Towers the day before she died. Pru was married to Timothy West for 61 years. He died in November 2024.
"She is survived by two sons and one stepdaughter, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
"We would like to thank all those who gave Pru such wonderful care at the end of her life: her last days were comfortable, contented and surrounded by love."
In 2013, Prunella was diagnosed with vascular dementia - a common type of the degenerative condition that causes a decline in thinking, memory, and reasoning skills.
She was best known for her role as Sybil Fawlty in the much-loved 1970s BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers.
But she previously said that TV sitcoms were her "least favourite form of work".
In January 1995, Prunella told Radio Times magazine: "It's a dreadful thing to say - because I suppose I earn the bulk of my living from them - but TV sitcoms are my least favourite form of work.
"I don't mind situation comedy in the theatre, where you do it night after night and can learn from the audience. I love long runs because I'm a slow worker. But on TV it's a horrendous schedule."
