Touching moment Prunella Scales, 91, who has dementia, plants a tender kiss on husband Timothy West’s cheek on their 60th wedding anniversary and tells him: ‘Thank you for sticking with me for so long’
BBC Breakfast viewers admitted they were deeply moved by a heartwarming exchange between actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales this morning as the couple celebrated 60 years of marriage in a new interview.
In conversation with reporter Colin Patersonthe British actors sat down to discuss their lives together, with Prunella, best known for her role as Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, leaning in to kiss her husband tenderly on the cheek when he asked her how life was with him been over the years. decades.
In that touching moment, Prunella, 91, who has had symptoms of vascular dementia for more than two decades, said to her husband, 89: “Thank you for sticking with me for so long.”
West replied, “Well, we did a good job,” before asking her, “It hasn’t really been hard work, has it?”
She replied, ‘No! He is a person I love, love, and enjoy being around.”
Onlookers described the moment as heartbreaking, with one person joking: ‘Who’s chopping onions here?’.
In the interview, broadcaster Paterson also revealed that Prunella, who continues to live in her family home with care, had a more hilarious response off camera.
In an article for BBC News, the journalist said: ‘Interview over, the cameraman goes to Scales and asks if he can take the clip microphone from her.
At their home in Wandsworth, actor Prunella Scales, 91, offers a kiss on the cheek to her 60-year-old husband Timothy West in an interview to mark their wedding anniversary on BBC Breakfast. Scales, 91, was diagnosed with vascular dementia more than twenty years ago, but he continued to live at home with care
Scales told journalist Colin Paterson: ‘He’s a person I love, who I love, I enjoy being with them’ as they discussed reaching their milestone birthday
The couple pictured with one of their two sons in the first decade of their marriage; West reflected ‘we did well’ during interview
Happily together: the couple still lives in their home near Wandsworth Common in London
Their Great Canal Journeys series for Channel 4 – which was candid about Prunella’s dementia – won the pair legions of new fans
“Oh beautiful,” she says, a twinkle in her eye. “Now I can say…”
He added: ‘And out of her mouth comes a four-letter word completely unsuitable for broadcast on BBC Breakfast.’
West recently published a book, Pru and Me: The Amazing Marriage of Prunella Scales and Timothy West, which discussed the couple’s decades of marriage and how they have dealt with the progression of Prunella’s disease.
In September, West, who shares a home in Wandsworth with his wife, admitted he misses the “company” of his “best friend” as her dementia battle continues.
This week the couple celebrates their diamond wedding anniversary
West spoke out in September about missing his wife’s “creative energy.”
BBC broadcaster Colin Paterson revealed Scales had a much bolder response about the couple’s wedding when the cameras stopped rolling. He said the actress ‘shared a four-letter word that was completely unsuitable for broadcast on BBC Breakfast.’
After their respective careers brought them together, the couple married in 1963
Coping: Prunella and Timothy were forced to leave their Channel 4 TV show, Great Canal Journeys, in January 2020 due to her ill health
The actor, who appeared in EastEnders and Coronation Street, says he can no longer discuss plays or concerts with his wife because she doesn’t remember.
The 89-year-old admitted that he longs for her “creative energy” and the brilliant ideas she had and parties she would like to go to with people she had recently met.
West says he spends a lot of time reassuring her during periods of confusion: “She doesn’t have much sense of time, so when she comes to me her face lights up as if we’ve been apart for days. The look on her face makes me realize how much I love her.”
He added: ‘She seems to be coping incredibly well, as I try, but she must sometimes wonder whether she can end her days in this home that has been so dear to us.
“It’s no problem not to recognize me, but that will happen, I’m sure.”
Timothy, who says he first noticed changes in his wife in 2001, says the condition has now become “part of their lives” as they adapt to her needs.
Prunella ended her 67-year acting career in early 2020.
West told BBC News that the couple’s relationship had endured, saying: “I know things will change a bit, but it’s been a long time and we’ve managed to get it right.”
Prunella, best known for her role as Sybil Fawlty (pictured) in Fawlty Towers, ended her 67-year acting career in early 2020
Their most recent success was Great Canal Journeys, in which they appeared lift the lid on their struggles and introduce viewers to their daily lives. The final series of the Channel 4 TV show aired in January 2020.
Giving insight into a typical day for the couple, Timothy revealed that Pru likes to sleep a lot and often goes to bed for a quick nap after having breakfast together.
However, the actress is still an entertainer in every sense and Timothy says she enjoyed a birthday party in the summer and attended three proms.
The veteran acting couple pictured together in When We Were Married in 1986
The couple, who “fell in love with crosswords and packs of polo coins”, first spoke about Pru’s condition after she began struggling with her lines on stage in the early 1990s.
Timothy explained that Pru, who performed in A Woman of No Importance, relied on “idiot boards” in 2003 to get her through the show.
They did not receive a formal diagnosis until ten years later and he explained that the progression of her disease “took a very long time.”
Prunella’s Fawlty Towers co-star Andrew Sachs died in 2016, just four years after doctors diagnosed him with dementia.
Pru and Me: The Amazing Marriage of Prunella Scales and Timothy West, published by Puffin, is out now.