Dame Judi Dench admits she ‘loathes’ being called a ‘national treasure’

Dame Judi Dench has admitted she “loathes” being labelled a “national treasure”.

Throughout her career – which has spanned seven decades – she has won an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, six British Academy Film Awards, and seven Olivier Awards.

After making her debut with the Old Vic Company in 1957, she went on to star in several Shakespeare productions, and later as Sally Bowles in Cabaret.

Some of the 91-year-old’s best-known film and TV work came in the James Bond films, Shakespeare In Love, Mrs Brown, Philomena, Belfast, A Fine Romance and As Time Goes By.

Dame Judi Dench has said she ‘loathes’ being called a ‘national treasure’ (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

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But despite her decades-long acclaimed career, Dame Judi has now said she cannot stand being labelled a “national treasure”.

“Loathe it. Makes me sound like a dusty old relic that’s been stuffed away in the back of the cupboard, along with some dinosaur fossils and a broken Roman shield,” she told The Times.

Despite having a string of film hits under her belt, Dame Judi also recalled how she was once told early in her career by a Hollywood film producer that she would “never make a movie because you have every single thing wrong with your face”.

“I suppose that was the era when you had to be quite a looker. He was very polite about it. Anyway, with amazing presence I said ‘Thank you very much for your time’, stood up, put the chair back against the wall and, as I left, I thought, what a relief. I can throw all my energies into becoming a theatre actor,” she said.

The actress also detailed her desire to continue to work after being diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012.

AMD is an eye disease that does not cause total blindness, but it can make things such as reading and recognising faces difficult, according to the NHS.

Dame Judi said she was “quite good at acting as if I can see”, but that people thought she was “cutting them dead when I don’t smile or recognise them”.

Explaining how it affected her ability to work, she added: “I’ve had to find a different method of learning lines because even with the script blown up, I struggle.

“It’s made me realise I have a photographic memory and so not being able to see the pattern of words on the page makes things really difficult. Friends now help and, provided I’m given enough time in advance to prepare, I can somehow muddle through.”

The actress added that although she was regularly asked when she was going to retire, she wanted to “banish” the word.

“I want to be like Newton Blick, who died in his dressing room after a performance. I want to be one of those women who throw themselves out of planes when they’re 100,” she said.

Her career has spanned several decades (Yui Mok/PA)

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

In February next year 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.”