Fawlty Towers is one of the most celebrated British comedies, but one of the main actresses from the series – Prunella Scales – is seemingly tired of talking about it.
If a TV show can capture the public’s imagination, the stars are likely to be endlessly questioned about it.
Daisy Edgar-Jones can barely make it from one end of a red carpet to the other without being asked about Normal People co-star Paul Mescal, and our love of nostalgia means that actors such as Chace Crawford, and Eva Longoria will always be asked about Gossip Girl and Desperate Housewives respectively.
It’s how a whole podcast genre exists which sees stars of big TV series rewatch them (Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, The Office, The OC, and Scrubs all have one) and it’s why we’ll always celebrate a reboot.
However, the downside can be that actors can’t always escape that part of their career, even if they want to.
Prunella has spoken honestly about how she feels when asked about the BBC series Fawlty Towers, which ran from 1975-1979.
It may have been 45 years since the last episode aired, but Prunella, 92, is still questioned about her experience playing Sybil Fawlty, the wife of hotel owner Basil Fawlty [John Cleese].
A journalist at The Times summarised that Prunella found the topic ‘irritating’.
When asked if she is regularly asked about Sybil, she replied: ‘Yes. It’s boring.’
‘On the whole, I love it when they don’t,’ Prunella added.
Prunella recently provided voiceover cameos for a reprisal of Queen, which uses Queen Victoria’s letters as inspiration for a drama, and so the interviewer asked if comedy was harder than drama.
‘Oh, that’s boring. Is the play good? Is the writing good? Do you understand the character? Go ahead. I mean, I don’t like this terrible analysis of one’s work,’ she responded.
When it’s pointed out that her Queen co-stars will enjoy meeting her, she suggests having another drink or changing the subject.
Fawlty Towers ran for two series, each comprised of six episodes, and focused on a fictional hotel located in Torquay, Devon. It won many accolades including British Academy Television Award for Best Scripted Comedy, and is described by BBC as ‘the British sitcom by which all other British sitcoms must be judged’.
Prunella has continued to be a small screen regular with roles in A Question of Attribution, After Henry, Mapp and Lucia, Smelling of Roses and Ladies of Letters. She also featured in many films including Lord of Misrule, Emma, and Wolf.
She played Queen Victoria over 400 times in the theatre show, An Evening With Victoria, which she recently reprised for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival show.
Alongside her husband Timothy West, she presented ten series of Great Canal Journeys for Channel 4 from 2014 until 2020.
Alzheimer’s and dementia: the facts
The most common forms of dementia (symptoms of a decline in brain function) are Alzheimer’s disease followed by vascular dementia.
Alzheimer’s is caused when plaques and tangles form in the brain making it increasingly hard for it to function properly. Early symptoms include forgetting recent events, struggling to remember words, becoming disorientated in familiar places and finding it difficult to concentrate.
Common early symptoms of vascular dementia include problems making decisions or following a series of steps, such as cooking a meal; slower speed of thought and trouble sleeping. The condition can also cause significant mood changes and depression and make people behave completely out of character.
Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer – and one in three babies born today will develop dementia in their lifetime. The risk of developing both Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia roughly doubles every five years from the age of 65. Women and men are affected equally. Diabetes, obesity, heart problems and high blood pressure all increase the risk.
However, you can significantly reduce your chances of developing the diseases by leading a healthy lifestyle – not smoking or drinking to excess, eating a balanced diet and getting regular exercise. Keeping mentally and socially active is also beneficial.
The third most common form of dementia – accounting for an estimated 20 per cent of cases – is Lewy body. With this condition, tiny clumps of protein appear in the brain’s nerve cells, causing a range of issues including mood swings, problems processing thoughts, hallucinations, difficulty balancing and walking slowly. Although DLB (dementia with Lewy body) can affect people under 65, it is much more common as we age, affecting men and women equally.
There is currently no cure for any of the forms of dementia. But getting an early diagnosis is very important in allowing you and your loved ones to access all the medical and social support available. If you are worried that you have any of the symptoms, your GP will be able to refer you to a specialist who can carry out a range of tests.
She was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013 which is caused by reduced blood flow to the brain. The couple discussed Prunella’s health openly within the programme that saw them take trips on narrowboats across the UK and beyond.
‘I’m unable to have the same in-depth conversation about stage productions with Pru that I used to enjoy. But we continue to do the things we have always done, as it’s important to continue to live,’ actor Timothy told the charity Alzheimer’s Society.
Writing in his memoir, Pru and Me, he said: ‘[We] have exactly the same conversation every day of the week and it’s something I never tire of.
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‘Repetition doesn’t really exist in Pru’s world and the look on her face when she enters the room and sees me sitting there on the sofa waiting for her makes me realise just how much I love her.’