Stage and screen star Timothy West dies aged 90 surrounded by family
By Casey Cooper-Fiske, PA Entertainment Reporter
Actor Timothy West, known for many roles in television and the theatre, has died peacefully in his sleep aged 90 “with his friends and family at the end”, his family said.
West, who was was married to fellow actress Prunella Scales for more than 60 years, starred in television shows such as comedy drama Brass, sitcom Not Going Out and soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders.
In a statement, his children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph said: “After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening. He was 90-years old.
“Tim was with friends and family at the end.
“He leaves his wife Prunella Scales, to whom he was married for 61 years, a sister, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren. All of us will miss him terribly.”
West and Scales, 92, who played Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, appeared in the documentary series Great Canal Journeys between 2014 and 2021, which saw them travelling on narrowboats together.
The couple married in 1963, and have two sons, actor Samuel West, and Joseph West.
West was also married to actor Jacqueline Boyer from 1956 to 1961, and they had a daughter, Juliet West.
In Brass he played ruthless self-made businessman Bradley Hardacre from 1982 to 1984 before returning for a third series in 1990, while in Not Going Out he played Geoffrey, the father of Lucy Adams, played by Sally Bretton.
In Coronation Street he appeared in seven episodes in 2013 as Eric Babbage, while in EastEnders he played Stan Carter from 2014 to 2015.
During his career West also played former British prime minister Winston Churchill three times, in From Churchill and the Generals (1979), The Last Bastion (1984), and Hiroshima (1995).
In 2019, the Bradford-born actor played Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes, a recreation of three missing episodes of the BBC comedy Dad’s Army.
His film roles included Commissioner Berthier in The Day Of The Jackal (1973), King Francis in From Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998), and Nazi physician and war criminal Karl Gebhardt in Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973).
On stage, he was a regular performer of Shakespeare, playing Lear in 2016 and 2002.
He performed at the Piccadilly Theatre, with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and the West End, portraying many classic roles, including Shylock, Falstaff, and Macbeth.
In 1984, West was appointed CBE for his services to drama in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Prior to acting, West had attended the John Lyon School and Bristol Grammar School, and worked as an office furniture salesman and a recording technician before becoming an assistant stage manager at Wimbledon Theatre in 1956.