John Cleese Pays Tribute to ‘Absolutely Perfect’ ‘Fawlty Towers’ Co-Star Prunella Scales

A titan of British television has passed away, and the remaining greats are paying their respects.

Last night, esteemed actress, BAFTA winner and Fawlty Towers star Prunella Scales died in her home at the age of 93. Scales’ career spanned mediums and decades, earning her the state honor of Commander of the Order of the British Empire, though most subjects of the United Kingdom would probably best know Scales for her performance as Sybil Fawlty, the snappy, irascible hotelier and wife to Basil Fawlty in John Cleese’s enduring hit sitcom Fawlty Towers.

While Sybil and Basil hardly had what anyone would describe as an affectionate marriage over the two seasons of Fawlty Towers, earlier today, Cleese put out a statement on the passing of Scales in which he was effusive in his praise of her talent and character. The Monty Python great described the late Scales as “a really wonderful comic actress,” saying of their work together on the iconic 1970s sitcom, “Scene after scene she was absolutely perfect.”

“How very sad. Pru was a really wonderful comic actress,” Cleese wrote of Scales’ passing. “I’ve recently been watching a number of clips of Fawlty Towers whilst researching a book. Scene after scene she was absolutely perfect.” 

While the character Cleese wrote for Scales on Fawlty Towers may have been nagging and resentful towards his own, in real life, Cleese says that Scales was a delight. “She was a very sweet lady, who spent a lot of her life apologising. I used to tease her about it,” Cleese said of Scales' behind-the-scenes demeanor. “I was very, very fond of her.”

In addition to the U.K. comedy legend, public tributes to Scales came from some of the highest offices in the British Isles, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson paid respects to the actress on the statesman’s behalf. “Clearly Prunella Scales was part of a golden era for British comedy, someone whose talent was beamed into people’s homes over many years and gave many people a huge amount of enjoyment,” the representative wrote. “The prime minister, of course, passes all his condolences to her family.”

Despite the fact that, like most beloved U.K. sitcoms Fawlty Towers enjoyed only a brief tenure on BBC Two spanning 12 total episodes, Scales’ impact on the world of British comedy is so great that, a half-century after she made her first appearance as Sybil Fawlty, her name is held in reverence by the most towering figures in the country.