Timothy West’s last TV appearance saw acting legend open up about wife Prunella Scales’ tragic dementia battle

TIMOTHY West's last TV appearance saw the acting legend open up about wife Prunella Scales' tragic dementia battle.

His family confirmed he died peacefully at home yesterday evening aged 90.

West is best known for his roles in Coronation Street as Eric Babbage and EastEnders as Stan Carter, and is one of just a handful of actors to appear in both rival soaps.

Fawlty Towers star Scales, 92, was diagnosed with vascular dementia, a form of the disease caused by reduced blood flow to the brain, in 2014.

West, who cared for his wife for more than a decade, appeared on ITV's Loose Women in November last year, weeks after celebrating his diamond wedding anniversary.

He told host Christine Lampard and the other panelists how he met his wife while they were performing in a play together.

He joked that it was a "very bad play and nobody was very interested in doing it" but during their time off he and Scales did crosswords and wrote letters to each other.

"We make each other laugh and we make each other find out about things," he said.

Coleen Nolan asked West how his wife was doing and he said: "She's okay, she's doing well."

He went on to say it's over 10 years since a doctor told the couple: "I'm afraid very very rarely does it get any better, you're just going to have to live with it."

Despite Scales' diagnosis, the couple enjoyed success on their Channel 4 series Great Canal Journeys between 2014 and 2019.

The programme showcased their love of narrow boating.

West described Scales' 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 around the same time as the Loose Women appearance, he said: "Somehow we have coped with it and Pru doesn't really think about it."

'EXTRAORDINARY LIFE'

Their children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West said on Tuesday: "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."

In a statement published by West's agent, the family added: "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."

West was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing Macbeth twice and King Lear four times during a renowned career.

He was also friends with Queen Camilla and attended her wedding to King Charles with Scales in 2005.

West also appeared in Channel 5's The Big Snow of 47, broadcast in January, and which saw famous faces recall the extreme weather in 1947.