Prunella - Teresa Ransom

Prunella Scales is of one of Britain's favourite and most secretive actresses. To some she is Sybil Fawlty, the terror of Torquay, while to others she is a reincarnation of Queen Victoria or Dottie, the cantankerous Tesco supergranny.

Teresa Ransom has put together a thoroughly absorbing portrait of a private and professional woman who has won the hearts of millions. Her TV debut came in 1952 as Lydia Bennett in Pride and Prejudice and Marriage Lines, Fawlty Towers and Mapp and Lucia established her as a household name for each decade that followed. Her list of theatre credits is long and eclectic and she is also a successful director and an inspirational teacher.

Prunella rarely speaks in her own right, yet here she has been utterly candid. Featuring many of the actress's own letters and diaries, and drawing on extensive interviews, this captivating biography reveals a life lived to the full both on and off the stage.