Who wants to be Judi Dench’s plus one to every event? Because she really needs the help. On Trini Woodall’s Fearless podcast, Dench says her failing eyesight is now preventing her from going out alone. “Somebody will always be with me,” she says. “I have to now because I can’t see and I will walk into something or fall over.” Dame Judi was first diagnosed with macular degeneration in 2012, and she said in 2019 she had to give up driving because it had gotten so severe. It is the leading cause of vision loss in people over 60, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
There is a silver lining, however. Macular degeneration is a great excuse to skip press events. “I’m always nervous before going to something,” Dench said. “I have no idea why. I’m not good at that at all. Not at all. Nor would I be now. And fortunately, I don’t have to be now because I pretend to have no eyesight.” It’s not exactly pretending. Dench said in 2023 that the condition has gotten in the way of her learning lines, as she used to rely on her photographic memory. “It’s difficult if I have any length of a part,” she said at the time. “I haven’t yet found a way.”