Prunella Scales was born Prunella Illingworth in Sutton Abinger, Surrey on June 22, 1932. Her mother had attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for a while and was later a part of the Liverpool Playhouse's Repertory Company. Her father was a a cotton salesman at Tootal. Her family moved to Bucks Mills near Bideford in Devon at the beginning of World War II. It was in 1942 that she received a scholarship to Moira House School. She developed an interest in acting, and in 1949 she received a scholarship for the two-year course at the Old Vic Theatre School.
Her career began as an assistant stage manager at the Bristol Old Vic. She made her television debut in 1952 playing Lydia Bennett in the BBC mini-series adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. She made her film debut in 1953 in the movie Laxdale Hall. In the Fifties, she appeared on the shows Television World Theatre, Champion Road, BBC Sunday-Night Theatre, BBC Sunday-Night Play, Inside Story, Saturday Playhouse, and ITV Television Playhouse. She appeared in the mini-series The Secret Garden.She appeared in the movies Hobson's Choice (1954), What Every Woman Wants (1954), The Crowded Day (1954), Blond Spot (1958), and Room at the Top (1958).
In the Sixties, she starred on the show Marriage Lines, She had a recurring role on Coronation Street. She appeared in the mini-series Saki. She appeared on the shows The Seven Faces of Jim, Call Oxbridge 2000 (1962), ITV Play of the Week, and On the Margin. She appeared in the movie Waltz of the Toreadors (1962).
In the Seventies, Prunella Scales starred on the shows Mr. Big and Fawlty Towers. She appeared on the shows Thirty-Minute Theatre, Country Matters. 7 of 1, Crime of Passion, Comedy Playhouse, BBC Play of the Month, Lucky Feller, BBC2 Playhouse, Pickersgill People, Target, and Jackanory. She appeared in the movies Escape from the Dark (1976), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978), and The Boys from Brazil (1978).
In the Eighties, Prunella Scales starred on the shows SWALK, Mapp & Lucia, and After Henry.. She appeared on the shows Bergerac, Never the Twain, Weekend Playhouse, Let's Parlez Franglais, Unnatural Causes, Theatre Night, Thompson, and Screenplay. She appeared on the mini-series Wagner. She appeared in the movies The Wicked Lady (1983), The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987), Consuming Passions (1988), and A Chorus of Disapproval (1989).
In the Nineties, she starred on the TV shows Signs and Wonder and Searching. She was a voice on the series The Big Knights. She appeared in the TV series Screen One, The World of Lee Evans, Dalziel and Pascoe, Keeping Mum, and Midsomer Murders. She appeared in the mini-series The Rector's Wife. She appeared in the movies Howard's End (1992), Wolf (1994), Second Best (1994), An Awfully Big Adventure (1995), Stiff Upper Lips (1997), Mad Cows (1999), An Ideal Husband (1999), and The Ghost of Greville Lodge (2000).
In the Naughts, Prunella Scales appeared in the mini-series Dickens and The Shell Seekers. She appeared on the shows Silent Witness, Casualty, Where the Heart Is, and Marple. She appeared in the movie Johnny English (2003). In the Teens, she appeared in the movie Run for Your Wife (2012). She appeared on the show The Royal.
Chances are good that Prunella Scales will always be best remembered as Sybil Fawlty, the domineering wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) who, nonetheless, was skilled in dealing with the hotel's guests. Earlier she starred on the sitcom Marriage Lines as newlywed Kate Starling, who soon finds herself bored with being housewife. She also played other roles throughout her career. In the Midsomer Murders episode "Beyond the Grave," she played the medium Eleanor Bunsall. In the movie Howard's End (1992), she played Aunt Juley, the quintessential Englishwoman. Prunella Scales was an enormous talent with a gift for comedy who could play a wide array of roles.