Dame Judi Dench: I can’t be on stage, I can’t do a play, I can’t read anymore

Dame Judi Dench has said she is no longer able to work as an actor because of her eye condition.

The actress, 91, was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012, which has made it difficult for her to recognise people’s faces.

Dame Judi told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “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.”

She added: “I go up to lots of the wrong people and give them a hug and say, ‘oh sorry, didn’t realise’.”

The actress was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012 (Yui Mok/PA)

PA Archive

Addressing interviewer Emma Barnett, Dame Judi said: “I can’t see your face at all.”

The James Bond star also expressed sadness at not being able to see bluebells in the summer, saying: “They said this summer was absolutely sensational with bluebells; I couldn’t see one.

“But I know what my trees look like, and part of it is in my memory and part of it is about hopefully what I can make out.”

Asked how she felt about ageing in general, Dame Judi replied: “Ageing? Rubbish. There’s nothing to say for it at all.

“Don’t think about it too much and just keep on trying to do the roller skates and whatever.

“If you can’t see as well, which I can’t, it’s a whole other ball game. I have to put up with it. My ma had it too.”

Dame Judi Dench said her sight problems stopped her from driving several years ago (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

PA Archive

Dame Judi previously told how she stopped driving a few years ago because of her deteriorating eyesight.

She told Radio Times: “A couple of years ago I stopped driving, which was one of the most traumatic moments of my life. It was absolutely appalling.

“But I just know I’ll kill somebody if I get behind the wheel of a car now.”

AMD is a common condition and does not cause total blindless, but it can make reading and recognising faces difficult, according to the NHS.

Dame Judi, whose career spans seven decades, has won various awards including an Oscar, two Golden Globes and six Baftas.

Dame Judi, whose career spans seven decades, has won numerous awards (Ian West/PA)

PA Archive

Earlier this year, it was announced The Shaftesbury Theatre in London’s West End would be renamed to honour Dame Judi.

In February 2027 the largest independent theatre in the West End will be renamed the Judi Dench Theatre.

At the time of the announcement in June, she said: “The Shaftesbury Theatre has always held a special place in my heart. My relationship to the Theatre of Comedy and to the Taffner family goes back many years and to have this beautiful theatre renamed after me is truly overwhelming.

“Live theatre continues to be so important as a way of telling stories and entertaining audiences, something I have aimed to do all my working life.”