Dame Judi Dench has revealed she once had the police knocking on her door after someone claimed they saw her steal a deer.
The acting legend explained that she and her late husband Michael Williams were driving home from the theatre when the animal suddenly leapt out in front of their car, the Mirror reports. Worried that the roe might get injured on the road, they immediately pulled over and were able to herd it back into a park.
However, the couple were left baffled when the police officers arrived at their home the next day - after someone claimed they had taken off with the animal. During an appearance at Stratford Literary Festival, the James Bond star said: “Michael and I had come from the theatre and suddenly, in front of us, a deer shot out of the park.
"We stopped and with enormous difficulty we got the deer back into the park. The very next day the police came and said, ‘We hear you were seen taking a deer out of the park?’
"Michael said to them, ‘Well we’re in jolly good company, as William Shakespeare was caught for the same thing… the difference being we were putting it back’.”
The famed 16th century playwright is said to have committed the crime at the same park - Charlecote in Warwickshire – near his home in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Speaking to good friend Brendan O’Hea, who starred alongside her in Bond film Quantum of Solace, Judi revealed she is writing a new book about her Shakespeare roles. The Oscar-winning actress, who is well known for her mischievous personality, also admitted that she once managed to convince a young actor that Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner had been turned into a supermarket.
She laughed: “I said it had been turned into a Tesco for the Royal Family. It makes such sense.”
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