Dame Judi Dench reveals the one role that "terrified" her the most

Dame Judi Dench has revealed the one role in her seven-decade career that was most daunting to her. The veteran actor is currently promoting her new memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?, written in collaboration with her friend Brendan O'Hea.

Chatting with Alex Jones during Friday's (23 October) episode of The One Show about her life and career, Dench said that the role she found the most "terrifying" in her career was from Cabaret.

Two years after the iconic stage musical premiered on Broadway in 1966, the James Bond and Philomena star played Sally Bowles in the original West End production at the Palace Theatre.

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Featuring Kevin Colson and Peter Sallis in supporting roles, the West End show ran for a whopping 336 performances, with Dench being widely praised for her performance despite how daunting she found the part.

She went on to tell Jones about her particular worries over not being much of a singer and the sound of her voice onstage, going on to assure the masses that it was "just how her voice sounded" and that she didn't have laryngitis.

At the time, Dench was best known for her work with the Old Vic theatre company and the Royal Shakespeare Company, but she has since gone on to win a record-breaking eight Oliver Awards and a Tony Award for her work in theatre.

In a glittering career, the actor has also been nominated for an Academy Award on eight occasions, and won Best Supporting Actress in 1999 for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in Shakespeare in Love.

The release of her memoir comes after the screen and stage legend confirmed she "can't do a film any more", with the actor having been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) 14 years ago.

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Opening up in a new interview for BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Dench outlined the effects that the condition has had on her storied career.

"I can't be on stage. I can't do a play any more. I can't do a film any more. I can't read any more," she explained. "You've got to adjust to all that, make allowance for it, and just get on, and don't think about it too much."

The One Show airs on BBC One and iPlayer on weekdays at 7pm.

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Freelance Reporter, Digital Spy Rebecca is a freelance journalist who specializes in TV and film. After beginning her career as a digital entertainment journalist for the Express & Star and Shropshire Star, she embarked on a freelance career in 2021 contributing to the likes of Metro UK, The Sun, WhatCulture, Screen Rant, FilmHounds Magazine and more. Her particular field of interest is horror cinema and she has written for genre publications such as Ghouls Magazine and Moving Pictures Film Club. LinkedIn