The late star of the classic comedy series Fawlty Towers, Prunella Scales, bequeathed over three million pounds through her final testament.
The performer, renowned for portraying Sybil Fawlty in the beloved 1970s television programme, passed away in October 2025 aged 93.
Official probate records made public on Thursday, August 13, disclosed UK assets totalling three million, three hundred and seventy-six thousand, five hundred and eighty-five pounds.
After settling debts, the net value of her estate amounted to three million, one hundred and sixty-six thousand, five hundred and fifty-four pounds.
Scales had been battling vascular dementia since 2013.
Her will, prepared in October 2020, comprised charitable contributions to multiple organisations.
She allocated ten thousand pounds to the Snipe Charitable Trust, which funds arts education and youth training initiatives.
A further five thousand pounds was directed to the Combined Theatrical Charities Appeal of the Council for the King George V Fund for Actors, while one thousand pounds each went to the Royal Horticultural Society and the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
Her two goddaughters inherited two thousand pounds apiece.
The balance of the estate was held in trust, divided equally between her sons Samuel and Joseph at forty percent each, with the remaining twenty percent passing to her stepdaughter Juliet, the child of her late husband, actor Timothy West.
A codicil added to the will in 2024 specified that these portions could be decreased should any beneficiaries have already received substantial monetary gifts from her or Timothy during their lifetimes.
This provision particularly mentioned three hundred thousand pounds previously provided to Samuel for property improvements.
Scales also requested that the sale of her residence be postponed for as long as a year to enable her grandson Clement, who was residing there at the time, sufficient opportunity to find alternative accommodation.
Her sons confirmed her passing last October.
In a combined announcement, Samuel and Joseph stated their beloved mother Prunella Scales passed away peacefully at her London residence. She was 93 years old. While the condition had compelled her retirement from an extraordinary acting career spanning nearly seven decades, she remained living at home until the end. She had been viewing Fawlty Towers the day prior to her death. Pru had been married to Timothy West for 61 years. He passed away in November 2024. She was survived by her two sons and one stepdaughter, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. The family expressed gratitude to all those who provided such exceptional care during her final days, describing her last moments as comfortable, content and filled with love.
Despite her legendary portrayal in Fawlty Towers, Scales confided in a 1995 conversation with Radio Times that situation comedies were not her preferred genre. She acknowledged it was regrettable to admit, given that such programmes formed the majority of her income, but that television sitcoms represented her least favourite type of work.