Timothy West and his wife Prunella Scales (Image: GETTY)
Fans of All Creatures Great and Small are eagerly awaiting the Christmas special set to grace Channel 5 this month. In a heartfelt chat with Express.co.uk among others, Tristan Farnon portrayer Callum Woodhouse and Nicholas Ralph, who plays James Herriot, delved into their experiences on the series.
The pair touched upon the poignant loss experienced by their fellow actor Samuel West, whose father, . Callum, portraying Samuel’s on-screen sibling, reminisced warmly about Timothy.
He recounted: “He [Timothy] was one of the patrons of LAMDA where I went to drama school so I was lucky enough to meet him quite a few times, throughout my time at LAMDA, and even more lucky to get to share a screen with the fantastic son he’s raised.”
Callum described Timothy’s passing as “a real tragedy”. Nicholas, while not having had the chance to work with or meet Timothy, felt connected through the anecdotes shared by Samuel.
A fellow actor reached out to Nicholas, recalling how Timothy had once penned him a letter upon his acceptance into drama school.
Timothy (left) and his son Samuel West, both British actors, circa January 1997. Timothy has acted in many classical theatre performances, including playing Macbeth twice, and King Lear four times. He has also appeared frequently on British television, in popular shows such as Coronation Street, Eastenders and Not Going Out. Since 2014 he has been travelling with his wife, actress Prunella Scales, in the Channel 4 series Great Canal Journeys. Samuel began acting on stage in the late 1980s, and has starred in plays such as Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia at the National Theatre and Hamlet at the RSC. He has also directed numerous stage productions and has appeared in a number of television shows including Midsomer Murders, The Crown and Mr Selfridge. (Photo by Eamonn McCabe/Popperfoto via Getty Images) (Image: Popperfoto via Getty Images)
Nicholas relayed: “It was a really encouraging letter saying how brilliant he was, he said ‘Please if you see Sam, pass on this message that I still remember it now’. ‘I’ve still got the letter he wrote me’.”
Nicholas expressed that Timothy’s death was “very sad news”.
The family of the acclaimed actor has revealed that he passed away “peacefully in his sleep”, surrounded by his loved ones.
He experienced a downward turn in health following a fall, culminating in his passing at a Wandsworth care facility.
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Timothy West (L) and Samuel West attend a drinks reception during the 57th Evening Standard Theatre Awards (Image: GETTY)
Samuel, his son, shared the poignant final words his father spoke to him prior to his death. What’s more, he noted the profound timing of his father’s departure – 6.55pm, a time synonymous with the ‘half-hour call’ for theatre performers.
“I thought that was rather beautiful,” Samuel confided to The Sunday Times.
His late father had fittingly queried: “Where are you going to rehearsals?”.
The statement released regarding Timothy’s passing said: “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.”
It continued: “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.”