EastEnders star Timothy West’s will revealed – wife Prunella Scales gets less than half

Legendary actor Timothy West’s incredible final act of kindness has been revealed in will. The beloved TV favourite chose to leave his huge fortune to a variety of charities close to his heart.

It was announced in November that Timothy – who has been in shows such as Brass and EastEnders – had passed away, aged 90 The acclaimed actor is said to have died “peacefully with his family around him” at a care home where he was receiving palliative care.

His will, which was drawn up in 2020, shows £15,000 will be given to the King George V fund for struggling retired actors and actresses. The kind-hearted star also gave £10,000 to the Snipe Charitable Trust, documents show.

Timothy gifted a further £10,000 to the Bristol Old Vic and Theatre Royal Trust and set aside £5,000 to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. Southwark Cathedral is to also be given a £10,000 donation.

He requested £20,000 to be paid to his sister Patricia, with the rest of his estate – estate valued at £110,000 – going to his wife, Faulty Towers favourite Prunella Scales. MailOnline report an amendment to the will in March 2024 stated: “I declare jointly with my wife Pru we are giving to our son Sam the sum of £300,000 to aid the renovation of his home.”

Following his death, his children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph released a statement saying: “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 great-grandchildren. All of us will miss him terribly.”

Timothy is said to have been found by a nurse at Wandsworth Common Care Home, where he had been living in the days prior to his death. As reported by PA, he move there after being in hospital for three months following a fall.

The care home’s general manager Thomas Holden gave a statement for the inquest. Mr Holden said that Timothy was admitted with a view to trying to rehabilitate him enough so that he could go home “as he wished to spend his last days there” but that there was a “slow decline” in his health over the days he resided there.

Mr Holden said in a statement read out: “On 12 November his family were with him all day. They continued to stay with him in his room during the evening and he passed away peacefully with his family around him at 19:20.”

The inquest, held in May. heard that members of the public came across him unconscious on a footpath near Wandsworth Common after his fall and an ambulance crew attended. They are said to have taken him to St George’s Hospital in Tooting after a neurological assessment. He remained in hospital for around three months during which time the actor’s loved ones eventually decided to prioritise his “comfort and dignity” and arranged for him to be discharged to the private care home.

A cause of death was also disclosed at the inquest. The medical cause of death was given as a subdural haematoma and extra-axial haemorrhage, with a traumatic brain injury and non-convulsive status epilepticus, aspiration pneumonia and hypertension as contributing factors.