Dame Judi Dench has revealed that an eye condition she has lived with for more than a decade means she can no longer perform on stage or in films, and is even preventing her from reading books.
The 91-year-old Oscar winner was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012, when she was still taking on major acting roles.
AMD affects the central part of the retina, which is needed for clear, straight-ahead vision. As a result, people with the condition can struggle to see detail and recognise faces.
Dame Judi’s most recent film appearance was a cameo in 2022. She has continued to appear on television, however, including this year’s episode of Tea With Judi Dench alongside Kenneth Branagh. She also provided a voice role for The Magic Faraway Tree, released earlier this year.
Speaking to the BBC’s Today programme about the impact of AMD, she said: ‘I can’t be on stage. I can’t do a play anymore. I can’t do a film anymore. I can’t read anymore.’
Reflecting on growing older, the screen and stage icon—who won the Academy Award for her role in Shakespeare in Love in 1999—said: ‘There’s nothing to say for it at all. [I] don’t think about it too much.’
The condition has also complicated everyday interactions, with Dame Judi explaining that she sometimes cannot recognise people and has accidentally approached the wrong person for an ‘almost hug’.
She has worked to adapt to her deteriorating vision, which made film sets increasingly difficult, and has described radio as ‘important’ to her.
Dame Judi Dench pictured in 2017. The legendary actress has revealed that an eye condition means she can no longer act on stage or in films
The star pictured as M in Skyfall in 2012. She was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that same year
To help her learn scripts, she has also turned to AI. The Daily Mail reported in May that she uses £300 Ray-Ban Meta glasses capable of converting written text into speech.
The glasses were recommended by Sight for Surrey, the vision-loss charity of which Dame Judi is patron. They discreetly deliver an audio feed that can be heard only by the wearer.
Despite the challenges, the actress has remained busy writing and promoting her new memoir, Is It Too Late To Make A Run For It?, which looks back on her extraordinary showbusiness career.
As part of the book’s promotional events, she will return to the stage to host a series of evenings with her close friend and writing partner, Brendan O’Hea.
Dame Judi, who received an extraordinary 27 Bafta nominations during her celebrated career, has also continued to speak candidly about her work. This month, she criticised the 2019 film Cats.
She played Old Deuteronomy in the adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1981 musical, which featured a star-studded cast including James Corden, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba and Jennifer Hudson.
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The film was widely mocked by critics and underperformed at the box office, taking $76 million (£61 million) against a reported budget of $100 million (£80 million).
Dame Judi described the production as a complete catastrophe and acknowledged that she has never watched the finished film.
In her memoir, she wrote: ‘Oh God, I can’t bear it – and [Lloyd Webber] had waited so long for it to be made.
‘What a waste of all that goodwill and talent. I understand the critics were rather hostile to the film. I never saw the final cut so I can’t judge.’
The star also hit out at theatres increasingly issuing trigger warnings before performances.
In an extract of her memoir published by The Times magazine, Dame Judi said: ‘I think they have gone too far. It’s mollycoddling. If you’re that sensitive, don’t go to the theatre.
On ageing, the legend of screen and stage added: ‘There’s nothing to say for it at all’ (Pictured: Dame Judi in Court Martial TV series in 1965)
‘By all means keep the warnings about strobe lighting and gunshots, and obviously there should be age limits for children, but that’s about it.
‘Otherwise, where will it end? The trigger warnings before Titus Andronicus would be longer than the play.
‘And if you overdo the warnings, doesn’t it take away from the audience’s enjoyment of the story?
‘Do you tell them that the butler did it in an Agatha Christie play so as not to shock them?
‘Besides, in the safety of a theatre or cinema, I want to be triggered, excited, stimulated, provoked and disturbed, to be taken out of my comfort zone. Isn’t that what makes theatre and films so thrilling?’
The Skyfall actress questioned just where trigger warnings should stop.
She added: ‘And who knows what might trigger people? Balloons, clowns, buttons… I have a friend who doesn’t like bananas.
‘She feels physically sick every time she sees one. Should supermarkets put up warning signs in the fruit and veg aisle? It drives me wild.’