Dame Judi Dench has acted for nearly 60 years
(Picture: PA Archive)Dame Judi Dench has admitted she is struggling to read or write after suffering advanced macular degeneration.
The acting legend, 87, is reported to have opened up about the effects of her diagnosed condition to BBC journalist Louis Theroux.
Though Dench admitted her condition is “bad”, she stressed that she had no plans to end her nearly 60-year acting career.
According to the Sun, Dench told Theroux: “I don’t want to retire. I’m not doing much at the moment because I can’t see. It’s bad.”
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is defined by the NHS as a condition that affects the middle part of vision. It first affects people in their 50s and 60s. “It does not cause total blindness,” the NHS says. “But it can make everyday activities like reading and recognising faces difficult.”
Dench, who appeared as M in the James Bond franchise, said was trying to “teach” herself to pick up the written word in a new way following her visual problems.
The actress continued: “I have a photographic memory so a person saying to me, ‘This is your line...’ I can do that.”
Dench recalled how she had to have her partner David Mills cut up her food in a restaurant recently, as she couldn’t see her meal on her plate.
She explained: “He cut it up and handed something to me on a fork and that’s the way I ate it.”
Dench’s revelations came after she revealed she had a “frightful fall” at her Surrey home back in January. This happened after she tripped over her carpet and was unable to get up from the floor for 30 minutes.
The legendary star detailed her painful accident to Saga Magazine, saying it was “difficult” to uphold her independence as she gets older.
“I had a frightful fall not long ago,” Dench said. “I tripped over the carpet, and there was nobody in the house and I was lying on the ground unable to get up for half an hour.”
The actress was left alone with her parrot, who wasn’t much help, she said. “I have a wonderful parrot who kept saying, ‘What are you doing? What are you doing?’
“This is when you need a very convenient parrot who would phone somebody – but she didn’t.”
