Timothy West's utter devotion to ill wife Prunella in his final years as her main carer

EastEnders and Dad's Army star, Timothy West, has died peacefully in his sleep aged 90 'with his friends and family at the end', his family announced in a statement

Timothy West spent his final years caring for his beloved wife, who tragically struggled to remember most of their loving marriage.

The Dad's Army actor, 90, died peacefully on Tuesday evening surrounded by loved-ones, his family announced today. His children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West said in a statement issued by his agent: "After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening."

The statement continued: "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. We would like to thank the incredible NHS staff at St George’s Hospital, Tooting and at Avery Wandsworth for their loving care during his last days."

Timothy was candid about his marriage with Fawlty Towers star Prunella, 92, and opened up about their struggles following her tragic diagnosis. Prunella was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2014, but her husband Timothy noticed the signs back in 2001 after going to see her in a theatre production.

It was revealed in 2015 that Timothy, who also became an EastEnders icon, became his wife's main carer. After speaking to Piers Morgan for his Life Stories series, the presenter revealed: "He's her main carer. He’s been utterly fantastic.

"But you could see total sadness etched on his face that they can’t now share all the stuff they have shared, because she can only remember parts of it." After being together for six decades, the Not Going Out actor opened up about their future and Prunella's condition in a rare interview in November 2023, where he confessed it "isn't going to get better."

"It hasn't really been hard work has it? ," he told BBC Breakfast before his wife chimed in: "No, he is the person I love and I enjoy being with..." to which he responded: "That is about it I think! " Discussing when he first noticed his wife's deterioration, he said: "I came to see a play that Pru was doing in Greenwich."

"I went to see the first night and it was good, much enjoyed by the audience and then I went to see it again and I thought 'She's not totally with it'. We went to see a specialist and he said I am sorry this is just something that happens to you when you get older. It is not going to get any easier but we cope with it and we manage."

Timothy starred in television shows such as the comedy-drama Brass, the sitcom Not Going Out and soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders. The late actor and Prunella, 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. Timothy 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. He was also a regular performer of Shakespeare, playing Lear in 2016 and 2002.