Judi Dench was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration in 2012. (Image: BBC)
has revealed that she can’t leave the house on her own anymore because of . The legendary actress, 90, lives with age-related macular degeneration, a disease which causes blurred central vision.
In a new interview, the James Bond star said she must be accompanied by someone everywhere she goes in case she falls over or bangs into something.
Judi told Trinny Woodall on her Fearless podcast: “Somebody will always be with me; I have to now because I can’t see and I will walk into something or fall over.”
Aside from her declining sight, Judi says she prefers to be supported by others and is “not very good at being on my own”.
She told Trinny: “I’m always nervous before going to something. I have no idea why…I’m not good at being on my own at all, nor would I be now.
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Judi Dench says she can no longer leave the house unaccompanied. (Image: Getty)
“And fortunately, I don’t have to now because I pretend to have no eyesight,” she chuckled.
In a sad update last year, Judi hinted that her acting career could be over for good as her lack of sight has made learning lines “impossible”.
The national treasure said that she has after last appearing in the 2022 movie, Spirited.
When asked about her career at the Chelsea Flower Show in May, the Oscar winner replied: “No, no, I can’t even see!”
Judi Dench has not appeared on the big screen since 2022. (Image: Getty)
Judi, who was diagnosed with macular degeneration in 2012, said she has tried to work “as much as she can” but finds any part “difficult” to play.
She told Express.co.uk and press: “I have so many friends who will teach me the script. But I have a photographic memory, so I have to know where it is on the page, and that’s quite a difficult thing.
“That’s what makes it really impossible so far [not knowing exactly where the text is]. But I’ll find a way.”
Beyond her professional setbacks, the ailment has peppered her personal life with various predicaments, including needing her partner David Mills to “cut up her food” because she struggles to see it.
Though her eyesight has affected her presence on screen, Judi remains active in various endeavours and recently released a book, Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent.