‘Perfection’: how Prunella Scales’s Sybil Fawlty is one of TV comedy’s best characters

<p>The accomplished classical actress had a perfect ear and the ability to effortlessly pull off demanding jokes. Her performance as Sybil alongside John Cleese in Fawlty Towers was one of sitcoms’ finest</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/oct/28/fawlty-towers-actor-prunella-scales-dies-at-the-age-of-93"><strong>Fawlty Towers actor Prunella Scales dies aged 93</strong></a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/gallery/2025/oct/28/prunella-scales-a-life-in-pictures"><strong>Prunella Scales: a life in pictures</strong></a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/oct/28/share-your-tributes-and-memories-of-prunella-scales"><strong>Share your tributes and memories of Prunella Scales</strong></a></p></li></ul><p>Prunella Scales portrayed two of Britain’s greatest monarchs on TV: Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. She was the first dramatic actor to play the latter on television, and won a Bafta nomination for doing so.</p><p>However, Scales, who has died aged 93, knew that public memory of her would be shaped by another woman. One who made those two royals look powerless – the self-declared domestic and hospitality industry empress, Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil, owner of the worst hotel in Torquay in Fawlty Towers, in which she co-starred with John Cleese, who also co-wrote with Connie Booth.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/oct/28/prunella-scales-tribute-sybil-fawlty-towers">Continue reading...</a>