EastEnders star dead as fans mourn legendary actor who led 'extraordinary life'
Brass and EastEnders actor Timothy West, who was married to fellow actor Prunella Scales for over 60 years, has died at the age of 90, it has been announced. Timothy, who is father to Juliet, Joseph and All Creatures Great and Small star Samuel, passed away surrounded by friends and family.
"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," his family said in a statement. "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 great grandchildren. 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."
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Timothy was best known in his later years for playing Stan Carter, the father of Tina and Shirley and grandfather of Mick in EastEnders, but his career on screen and stage stretched back over six decades, beginning with his London theatre debut in 1959 in the play Caught Napping. During his prestigious theatre career, he played both Macbeth and Uncle Vanya twice, and King Lear an impressive four times between 1971, when he was 36, and 2016, when he was 82.
Born in Bradford on 20 October 1934, Timothy made his film debut in 1966, and had featured roles in acclaimed movies including 1973's The Day of the Jackal, 1987's Cry Freedom, and as the older Maurice in the 2001 biographical drama Iris (in which Timothy's son Samuel played the younger version of his character).
He is probably best known for his TV roles, beginning with his performance as the king in 1975's historical drama series Edward the Seventh, alongside Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria and Robert Hardy as Prince Albert. He also played Winston Churchill twice - in 1979's Churchill and the Generals and 1984's The Last Bastion, and in the 1980s he was best known as Bradley Hardacre in the long-running comedy drama series Brass.
More recently, Timothy appeared in hit TV series including Waking the Dead, New Tricks, Not Going Out, Gentleman Jack and Last Tango in Halifax, and also appeared in Coronation Street in 2013 as Eric Babbage, a carpet salesman who was a love interest for Sue Johnston's Gloria Price.
Timothy was married to actress Prunella Scales, and between 2014 and 2019 the couple presented Great Canal Journeys, in which they took canal barge and narrowboat trips along waterways in the UK and France, and then further afield to India, Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands. During the series, they both talked about Prunella's diagnosis of vascular dementia, which is caused by reduced blood flow to the brain, and Timothy also described her condition in his memoir Pru and Me.
In an interview with Saga Exceptional two years ago, he said: "Now that her condition has worsened, I miss Pru's companionship as my best friend." He added: “Pru doesn’t have much awareness of time so when she joins me in the living room, her face lights up as if we’ve been apart for days. The look on her face makes me realise how much I love her.”
