Our 50-year affair: Timothy West and Prunella Scales reveal their romance with Britain’s backwaters

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Prunella Scales, the much-loved actress famous for playing Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers and her enduring relationship with her husband, Timothy West, has passed away at the age of 93. This interview, originally published in March 2014, offers a glimpse into their 50-year life together, filled with laughter, love, and adventures on Britain’s canals.

Timothy West cheerfully recalls a scary incident from 1996 when he and Kevin Whately almost drowned. They were performing “Twelve Angry Men” at the Bristol Old Vic and West took the cast on a boat trip down the River Avon, which was unusually full and fast-flowing due to heavy rain.

As Kevin Whately and I steered our narrowboat into a lock, a strong current unexpectedly pulled us towards a nearby weir – a sort of small waterfall. We were saved from tipping over only by a safety barrier. We tried to look calm, but we were actually worried we were about to lose the boat, end our journey, and halt filming altogether. The problem was, we didn’t have enough power – either from rowing or the engine – to steer away from the barrier as the current pushed us against it.

Eventually, a canoeist paddling by threw a rope to the other side of the river and stopped a truck. The driver tied the rope to the front of the truck and drove straight across a field, pulling the actors to safety. “It was a pretty scary afternoon,” Tim remembers. “Luckily, we had lots of wine with us!”

Watching Tim and Pru on their canal boat, it’s surprising they don’t encounter more problems. Despite being 81, Prunella Scales is remarkably agile, easily moving along the locks even with the steep drop-offs. Her husband steers the boat, occasionally causing some jarring bumps as it hits the sides.

“It’s always Tim doing the steering!” Prunella said playfully. “But I like running along the towpath – there’s amazing wildlife, and it’s great exercise.”

Last October, the couple marked their 50th wedding anniversary with a scenic cruise on the River Thames aboard the paddle steamer Waverley. Their passion for canal life began in the 1970s when they borrowed a friend’s boat for two weeks. “We’d never tried narrowboating before, and it turned out to be one of the best holidays we ever had,” Tim recalls. “It was a wonderful summer, and the boys – Sam, who’s now an actor, and Joe – were… how old were they, Pru?”

The kids were at an age where they could help with simple tasks like locking doors. Best of all, they’d get wonderfully sleepy and be down for bed by six, giving us a chance to relax with a glass of wine and enjoy some conversation.

Pru and Tim have been traveling Britain’s canals – over 2,000 miles of them – since 1989 on their current boat. Pru jokes that it comfortably sleeps seven people, as long as everyone is friendly and quiet. Tim adds that the boat is starting to show its age, but playfully says it has ‘denture troubles’ instead of ‘teething troubles’!

In the show, he speaks with emotion about the challenges both he and his wife, Pru, face as they get older. Pru has a mild form of Alzheimer’s, which affects her memory. However, he points out that life on the canal doesn’t require remembering things – it’s all about enjoying the present moment, making it a perfect fit for her.

The cast is also committed to continuing their performances. Pru jokes, “I always say I want to die on stage after the eighth curtain call—that would mean the show was a hit!” She adds, with a laugh, “I just hope I’m doing a decent job and somewhere near the center of the action.”

Prunella Scales shares her favourite narrowboat journeys

Our canal boat feels like a cozy country cottage, but with a unique perk: you wake up to a new view each day! When Tim and I were younger, we loved exploring the canals and rivers, traveling all the way up to Ripon in North Yorkshire – that’s as far north as you can go by narrowboat in England and Wales.

But which waterside haunts stick in my memory?

  1. We first tried a canal holiday back in the summer of 1976, when a friend lent us a boat on the Oxford Canal. I’ll always remember mooring near King’s Sutton one evening and watching the sunset while listening to the gentle sound of water flowing through a lock. Our two sons were happily exhausted after a day of helping with the locks and bridges – it was pure bliss.

  2. We owned a boat on the Kennet and Avon Canal for several years. The canal offered people the chance to “adopt” a lock, and we chose the beautiful Copse Lock, where the River Kennet briefly joins the canal. It was a truly charming location.

  3. It’s a wonderful feeling to finish your journey along the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal and suddenly see the Royal Shakespeare Theatre ahead! Our son, Sam, spent two seasons living on our boat in Stratford, and it was a lovely lifestyle – performing in Hamlet, enjoying a drink at the Dirty Duck pub, and simply enjoying life on the water – just try not to fall in!

  4. We once travelled north from the Potteries, leaving behind the reddish-brown waters, and decided to explore the Macclesfield Canal instead of taking the direct route to Manchester. It was a great decision! The section of canal south of Congleton, built high above the surrounding land, offers stunning views of the countryside – some of the best you’ll find anywhere.

  5. Further north, the nine-mile Crinan Canal in Argyll and Bute is worth mentioning. It cuts across the Kintyre peninsula, offering a quicker route from Loch Fyne to the Atlantic Ocean. We didn’t travel it on our own boat – it would have taken far too long at just 4mph – but we enjoyed it on the historic steamship Vic 32, where we’ve had some wonderful holidays. My husband, Tim, is fascinated by steam engines, and he absolutely loved it!

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2025-10-28 15:05