LEGEND LOST
Timothy West dead: EastEnders star and husband of Fawlty Towers star Prunella Scales dies ‘in his sleep’ aged 90
The actor was one of just a handful of soap stars to achieve a rare feat
LEGENDARY EastEnders actor Timothy West has died "in his sleep" aged 90.
Timothy was the husband of Fawlty Towers star Prunella Scales, who he cared for after her dementia diagnosis in 2014.
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The couple were married for 61 years and enjoyed later-life success on their Channel 4 series Great Canal Journeys.
Timothy was best known for his roles in Coronation Street as Eric Babbage and in EastEnders as Stan Carter.
The actor was one of just a handful of stars to appear in both rival soaps, alongside Andrew Sachs and Denise Welch.
He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing Macbeth twice and King Lear four times.
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Timothy was friends with Queen Camilla and attended her wedding to the future King Charles with Prunella in 2005.
His children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West 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."
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In a statement published by Timothy's agent, the family added: "All of us will miss him terribly.
Timothy West stars with wife Prunella Scales on Channel 4's Great Canal Journeys
"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."
In later life, between 2014 and 2019, the couple filmed Great Canal Journeys, a Channel 4 series celebrating their love of narrow boating.
Prunella was diagnosed with vascular dementia, a form of the disease caused by reduced blood flow to the brain, in 2014.
Timothy described her condition in his memoir Pru and Me.
He revealed he had consulted the couple's GP about her memory a year before her diagnosis - but had been told not to worry.
Speaking to the BBC soon after the couple's diamond wedding anniversary in 2023, he said: "Somehow we have coped with it and Pru doesn't really think about it."
Paying tribute, Piers Morgan said: "RIP Timothy West, 90. A wonderful actor, and delightful man.
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"My Life Stories interview with him, as the love of his life Prunella Scales sat in the audience, was so moving.
"They were married for 61 years, and his devotion to her after she developed Alzheimer’s was profoundly touching."
Timeline of Timothy West's extraordinary career spanning six decades
TIMOTHY West was born in Bradford on October 20, 1934.
He started out as an office furniture salesman and recording technician before becoming assistant stage manager at Wimbledon Theatre in 1956.
West played repertory seasons across the country before making his West End debut at the Piccadilly Theatre in 1959, in the farce Caught Napping.
He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company for three seasons from 1962 to 1965.
The actor played Macbeth twice, Chekhov's Uncle Vanya twice and King Lear four times.
On screen he appeared in Seventies thrillers The Day of the Jackal and The Thirty Nine Steps.
But Timothy was best known for his roles in Coronation Street as Eric Babbage and in EastEnders as Stan Carter.
The actor was one of just a handful of stars to appear in both rival soaps, alongside Andrew Sachs and Denise Welch.
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