Dame Judi Dench reveals her eye condition means she is no longer able to act on stage or in film and is unable to read

Dame Judi Dench has given a health update about her longstanding eye condition, with the legendary actress revealing she is unfortunately now more or less unable to work.

Speaking during an appearance on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she told host Emma Barnett: "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."

Dench – who is 91 years old – had first been been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012, with the condition severely affecting her vision.

Asked about how she felt about ageing more generally, she replied: "There's nothing to say for it at all. [I] don't think about it too much."

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Although the quotes above would make it appear that her iconic acting career is now behind her, Dench has continued to make public appearances and has just published a memoir, titled Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?.

Last year, she gave an exclusive interview to Radio Times in which she described her declining eyesight as "a crusher."

She added: "I miss seeing Clive Myrie doing Mastermind, but I can hear the questions."

Dench's last major film role was in Alan Bennett adaptation Allelujah in 2022, although she did have a brief voice role in The Magic Faraway Tree earlier this year.

Meanwhile, she's also appeared in a number of TV documentaries since then, including Tea With Judi Dench (below) and Judi Dench: Shakespeare, My Family and Me last year.

Her new memoir was written alongside theatre director Brendan O'Hea, with a synopsis reading: "With her actor's gift for storytelling, she takes us back to her upbringing in York: the parents who shaped her, the brother who encouraged her to act and the teachers who inspired her.

"She tells of pranks, onstage and off, dissects her greatest screen roles and shares tales of her joyful marriage to actor Michael Williams, as well as her passion for nature and animals."

It concludes: "Funny, intimate, surprising, moving and over ninety years in the making, this is the story of Britain's most beloved actor."

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Authors

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.