25 February 2015
Newsdesk
Dame Judi Dench's failing eyesight means she needs someone to travel with her so she doesn't look like "a mad, drunk lady".
The 80-year-old actress announced she has age-related macular degeneration in 2012. The condition - which can lead to blindness - means her eyesight is gradually getting worse and she explained that she can no longer read scripts, so now has someone to read her lines to her.
In a new interview Judi explained that things have become harder, and she now relies on having someone with her during trips.
"These days I can’t really travel on my own because I need someone to say, 'Look out, there’s a step here!' or else I fall all over the place like a mad, drunk lady," she told Radio Times magazine.
Things may be tough in some ways, but the Oscar-winning star doesn't let it get her down. Instead she focuses on what is positive in her life, such as shooting movies which mean a lot to her.
The latest of those is The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which is a sequel to the 2011 movie. Dame Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Celia Imrie and Penelope Wilton all returned for the film, which sees hotelier Sonny putting his dreams of expansion into action.
Both are set in India, so it was fun for the cast to jet over there for the shoot.
"We're all great friends and we've done masses of things together," Judi explained. "It was like an old travelling theatre company coming back together - old being the operative word!"
Judi has always been philosophical about her failing eyesight, which her mother also had. As there isn't much she can do about it she feels it's best to accept what has happened and find ways to cope with it.
"I can't read scripts any more before because of the trouble with my eyes. And so somebody comes and reads them to me, like telling me a story," she said in 2012.
"You get used to it. I've got lenses and glasses and things and very bright light helps."
