Timothy West, who passed away last year, shared his thoughts on how to cope with his beloved wife Prunella Scales’ vascular dementia and when he first became aware of something was wrong.
Prunella Scales, a star of Fawlty Towers, passed away in 1993.
Prunella Scales’s devoted husband Timothy West gave a moving interview about his wife’s dementia in an episode of Piers Morgan ’s Life Stories, which has resurfaced in the wake of the actress’s tragic death today (October 28).
Acting great Timothy, who died last November aged 90, said on the ITV show: “The sad thing is that you just watch the gradual disappearance of the person that you knew and loved and were very close to.
When you start thinking about the past and think, “Oh, what a shame she can’t do that anymore, or you can’t talk about this anymore,” you become aware. Then it’s depressing. Not many people rushed to hire her as soon as the story spread.
Prunella and Timothy, who were diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013, continued to discuss her condition openly for more than ten years, most recently on their television travel series Great Canal Journeys and in West’s 2023 memoir Pru and Me.
READ MORE: Prunella Scales’ heartbreaking admission to actor husband in final ever interview
However, Timothy said on Life Stories in 2015, “It shocked everyone that it developed so slowly and mercifully. Pru was a part of a play that was performed at Greenwich in London. I pondered the statement, “I can see her thinking, not that Pru has forgotten her lines or is not saying her lines properly.”
She never delayed her responses, saying, “She never delayed my responses, but it was just the opposite of what she had always been, being completely self-centered, and then thinking, “Am I going to manage this?” And I was aware that something was amiss. But I didn’t fully grasp what it was until I did.
In order to assist others, the couple made an appearance. Timothy remarked, “It would be dishonest to not do it.” “Suffer people are aware of the condition,” the question being asked, “why don’t they mention this?”
I made my choice, I said. I simply thought it was dishonest, stupid, and unfair to not mention it and keep people informed of it.
READ MORE: Inside Prunella Scales and Timothy West’s 60 year marriage as they die months apart
He once said, “The hardest part is communication, because of your sense of loss.” We might have attended a concert, play, or movie, but there isn’t much we can say about it because Pru will recall it in a somewhat hazy manner.
She would have enjoyed the evening, and she might have inquired about the acting. But she can’t discuss what the play is saying. Pru should find it to be very uncomfortable, in my opinion. Of course, it frustrates me.
After Timothy’s first marriage ended, the couple met in the play She Died Young, and they got married in 1963. Timothy remarked on how significant she had been to his life, saying, “Yes, she has. We are always very happy to see each other because we spend a lot of our lives apart.
READ MORE: Prunella Scales dead: Fawlty Towers star dies just months after actor husband
He continued, “My divorce had just come through from my first marriage and I seized the moment as we were driving up to Cambridge.” At a red light, I was driving and realized, “yes, we could do it right away, really.” Will you marry me, I just asked. And the answer was “yes.”
On various levels, we were loved and respected by one another, including our general perceptions of life and how we thought and valued things. I cherished her family. We simply assumed it would work, which it has.
He even bought her clothes, explaining: “I love shopping for ladies’ garments. I am very interested in ladies’ fashion. Pru does not find it weird.”
Pru continued, “Timothy is just a lovely person.” He continues to challenge, charm, and inspire me.
READ MORE: Prunella Scales’ heartbreaking marriage regret before final goodbye to Timothy West
Source: Mirror
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