Timothy West shares wife Prunella Scales' first sign of dementia 20 years ago
Timothy West has revealed his wife Prunella Scales' first devastating sign of dementia, which he picked up on 20 years ago.
The much-loved actress, 91, famed for her role as Sybil in Fawlty Towers, has dealt with vascular dementia for more than a third of the couple's married life. Explaining he first realised something was 'up' with his wife in 2001. Timothy, 89, one of the UK's most decorated stage actors, said he had gone to see Prunella in the opening night of a play in London.
Despite everything going well, when he returned later in the run, he said: "I thought, 'Pru's a bit strange. Not totally with it.' It wouldn't have bothered any ordinary member of the audience, but I knew that she had just not quite been on top of it."
Timothy West has revealed his wife Prunella Scales' first devastating sign of dementia (PA)
The couple have been married for 60 years (PA)It was more than a decade later, in 2014, that a diagnosis of vascular dementia was officially made. Remembering every word of the life-changing appointment, Timothy shared: "We went to see a specialist who said, 'Sorry this is just something which happens to you when you are older and it's not going to get any easier, but you can cope with it. Don't let it get you down," he told the BBC.
That year, the couple, whose son is actor Samuel West, decided to take the specialist's advice and embark on what was to become a 10-year offering of their celebrated Great Canal Journeys series on Channel 4. The beauty of the show, in which the couple toured the world on a host of sunlit canal barges, was that Tim never shied away from Pru's condition.
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When asked how they are coping now, Timothy, who has just written a book about the couple's marriage, says they continue to do the things they've always loved, including visiting art galleries and the theatre. Most importantly, though, he says, is that the core of their relationship has not altered since the dementia diagnosis. "I don't think it has changed at all," says Timothy. "No. No. No," Pru jumps in to back him up. "I've got to know him better and better and better."
The couple on one of their many Great Canal Journeys (Channel 4)The couple's son Sam – who plays Siegfried Farnon in Channel 5 vet drama All Creatures Great and Small – said his mum was still "absolutely" able to enjoy his work and was still able to recognise him both on and off screen, as well as his children. Last year, he told The Mirror the family was holding on to the woman they love, and she to them. However he admitted they were braced for the possibility of the upsetting fading of recognition, as he shared: "I expect there might be one day, soon, I don’t know."
Pru and Me: The Amazing Marriage of Prunella Scales and Timothy West, published by Puffin, is out now
* For more information about dementia, please contact the Alzheimer's Association Dementia support line on: 0333 150 3456 or visit their website at: www.alzheimers.org.uk
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