Timothy West Dorset visits remembered after death of TV star

The well loved actor died in his sleep aged 90 'with his friends and family at the end”, his family said.

As well as his many stage and screen roles he was also known for his Channel 4 TV series Great Canal Journeys between 2014 and 2021 which he presented with his wife, Fawlty Towers star, Prunella Scales, 92.

The actor's love of steam engines, in particular steam boats, is what drew him to Dorset. 

He visited the county on many occasions as he took trips on the famous paddle steamer Waverley, the world's last seagoing paddle steamer.

West and Scales were patrons of the vessel which has often stopped off in Weymouth, Swanage and Poole. 

The couple were dedicated supporters of the vessel since it was saved from scrap 50 years ago, helping financially to keep it afloat.

Timothy West on board the Waverly off the Dorset coast. (Image: GEOFF MOORE) West was pictured taking on trip on the Waverley several years, when it called into Weymouth, by Portland-based photographer and travel writer Geoff Moore.

Mr Moore said: "He's always been interested in studying steam engines, and the Waverley being an old fashioned paddle steamer, he was a regular visitor when the opportunity came to ride it out of Poole or Weymouth because he loved it so much.

"I also met him on a job I was doing in South Wales when he was filming his canal boat series.

"He was a very nice guy, a nice person and was crazy about steam engines and steam powered boats."

The Waverley last called into the area in September, and before that in 2022 after a four year absence.

West was also in the county in 2019 when he officially opened the the new revamped pier in Swanage in his role as an honorary patron of the National Pier Society.

The Grade II listed pier had undergone a £2.2 million refurbishment which saw dozens of ageing wooden blocks replaced and a new visitor centre and café facilities added.