This All Creatures Great and Small star has a very famous family

Samuel West is adored for his portrayal of cantankerous veterinary surgeon Siegfried Farnon in Channel 5's beloved period drama, All Creatures Great and Small. But did you know that the actor isn't the only famous face in his family?

Find out all about the star's show business background here, including his actor parents…

Meet Samuel West's famous parents

While Samuel might be known for his acting work both on stage and on-screen, he isn't the only thespian in his family. Samuel's parents are actors Prunella Scales and Timothy West, who are both well-known performers.

Prunella is perhaps best recognised for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of John Cleese's Basil Fawlty in the BBC comedy Fawlty Towers. She has appeared in many films and TV series over the years, including The Hound of the Baskervilles and Howards End, and was also nominated for a BAFTA for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the 1991 stage play, A Question of Attribution, which was broadcast on the BBC.

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As for Timothy, he is best known for playing Sir Leicester Dedlock in Bleak House and starring in the 2011 BBC psychological thriller, Exile, alongside John Simm and Olivia Coleman.

He also featured in Last Tango in Halifax and played the role of Stan Carter in BBC soap EastEnders. Most recently, he played Jeremy Lister in BBC drama Gentleman Jack.

Timothy's father, Lockwood West, was also an actor who performed both on stage and on-screen. During the 1960s and 70s, he made several TV appearances in shows such as Upstairs, Downstairs and Please Sir!

In 2014, Timothy told The Guardian that his wife had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and six years later, in 2020, the pair were forced to bring her television career to an end amid her deteriorating health.

Talking about his mother to The Mirror in 2021, Samuel said of her condition: "She still recognises us, and she knows I have two children, so that's really good.

"You can never quite tell with dementia what sort of personality it's going to leave a person with, but on the whole, she's quite cheery."

Sharing an update during an appearance on ITV's Lorraine on Thursday, Samuel said his mum and dad were "fine". "My mother went on a cruise the other day. I'm not sure she quite knew where she was but she enjoyed getting there," he said.

Samuel also has a brother, Joseph, who he appeared with alongside their father in the 1975 film Edward the Seventh. The brothers also share a half-sibling in their sister Juliet, who is a hairdresser.

Speaking about his sister back in 2011, Samuel told The Guardian: "I got all my tastes in music from our half-sister, Juliet, who was into bands like Pink Floyd and Sparks. She's my father's daughter from his first marriage and came to live with us on and off when I was eight."