Dame Judi Dench: I can’t do a play, do a film, or read any more

Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench says her eye condition has left her unable to perform on stage or read, more than a decade after she was diagnosed.

Dench was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012, a condition that affects her vision and has made it incredibly difficult to even recognise faces.

Speaking to Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, 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.”

She also revealed how her condition can lead to awkward encounters, saying she sometimes approaches the wrong people “and give them an almost hug” before realising her mistake.

When asked about ageing, Dench, who’s 91, replied: “There’s nothing to say for it at all. [I] don’t think about it too much.”

Dench has enjoyed a career spanning more than seven decades and is one of Britain’s most celebrated actors, with a body of work across theatre, television and film. She was speaking to the BBC following the release of her memoir, which was written alongside theatre director Brendan O’Hea, called Is is too late to make a run for it?

She won an Academy Award for best supporting actress for playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love in 1999, and became internationally recognised for her portrayal of “M”, James Bond’s boss. She made her debut as the character in GoldenEye in 1995, becoming the first woman to play the role.

But her sight loss has increasingly affected her ability to work, with the actress previously speaking about struggling to see on film sets and having difficulty learning scripts.