Fawlty Towers star Prunella Scales is suffering with such a severe form of dementia that she can barely remember her marriage, husband Timothy West has revealed.
Appearing on the new series of Piers Morgan’s Life Stories,* EastEnders* star Tim – who played Stan Carter on the BBC soap – explained how his wife of 53 years has Alzheimer’s disease and is rapidly deteriorating.
The 80-year-old actor is now Prunella’s full-time carer, a job Piers noted was taking its toll on him.
“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,” Piers said.
“Prunella was in the audience [when Life Stories was filmed] and Timothy wanted her there, yet he wanted to talk about her illness.
“He said, ‘Don’t worry because she won’t remember.’ Afterwards in the green room, she had no memory of it. It’s heartbreaking.”
Prunella, 83, is best known for her role as the icily hilarious Sybil in Fawlty Towers, in which she starred opposite John Cleese.
She and Tim went public with her condition for the first time last year, when she said she wants to “die on stage” during her eight curtain call.
Piers Morgan’s Life Stories starts again on Friday 4 September at 9pm on ITV.