Acting legend Judi Dench says loss of sight is 'a crusher'
Judi Dench is one of the greats in the acting industry, but she has shared a candid health update since her last on-screen appearance in 2022.
Dame Judith Olivia Dench, one of Britain's greatest actresses, has garnered numerous accolades throughout a career spanning seven decades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, six British Academy Film Awards, and seven Olivier Awards.
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The Oscar-winner and James Bond star has said sight loss due to macular degeneration means she can no longer see faces clearly, calling the condition a "crusher" as she marked her 91st birthday on Tuesday, 9 December.
The veteran star of stage and screen, whose role as "M" in eight Bond films shot her to global fame, has suffered from the degenerative eye condition for over a decade.
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Last year, she revealed that it had reached the point where she had effectively been forced to retire.
Since then, a further deterioration means she can now only see faces — even at close quarters — "in a fog".
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She still puts the television on, but just to listen to, she added in the interview with the Radio Times listings magazine, to mark her birthday.
She has also shared that she is facing increasing memory problems, saying she struggles to recall immediate appointments – but is still able to remember reams of Shakespeare.
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“I can’t remember what I’m doing tomorrow, I swear to you,” she told the Radio Times. Her assistants then confirmed that she does sometimes require such help.
Dench, nominated seven times for an Academy Award, won for Best Supporting Actress in 1998 for her eight-minute turn as Queen Elizabeth I in the romantic period piece "Shakespeare in Love".
Asked about Hollywood star Kevin Spacey, a longstanding friend with whom she acted in the 2001 film "The Shipping News", Dench was quick to give him her backing.
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Spacey is currently facing a civil battle in the UK over sexual assault allegations after being acquitted of similar accusations in criminal proceedings in 2023.
"Kevin has been exonerated, and I hear from Kevin, we text," she said.
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However, she was more reticent about disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, whose predatory sexual behaviour she has in the past condemned.
Weinstein was the producer of "Shakespeare in Love" and became a friend.
"I imagine he's done his time," she said.
"I don't know, to me it's personal — forgiveness. I just think..," she said, her voice trailing off.
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Dench is also fronting a new documentary about her relationship with Shakespeare's works, and will be seen being interviewed by Kenneth Branagh on another programme, to be broadcast over Christmas.
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