“Yes, and I can see your outline, and I know you so well, but I can’t recognise anybody now,” she continued.
“People think, ‘Oh, get her, she’s got very grand,’ but it’s because I can’t see. I can’t see the television, I can’t see to read.”
Social media instantly lit up with messages of support for the film veteran.
Dame Judi Dench with Daniel Craig (right) of the James Bond franchise. Photo / Getty Images
“She is 90 years of age and still looks great,” someone insisted on Instagram.
“Such a shame, but if anyone can deal with something like this it’s her. She’s an absolute powerhouse and the best of us,” another commented.
Despite appearances in 2022 film Spirited and comedy drama Allelujah, Dench confirmed she would be taking a step back from the cameras back in May 2024 because of her deteriorating health.
“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,” she told reporters at the annual Chelsea Flower show.
“That’s what makes it really impossible so far. But I’ll find a way,” she added.
But finding a way has been a difficult task for the star.
Just over six months later, she revealed that she is no longer able to leave her house on her own thanks to needing assistance because of her worsening eyesight.
“Somebody will always be with me; I have to now because I can’t see and I will walk into something or fall over,” she shared with Trinny Woodall on her Fearless podcast.
“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.”
Age-related Macular Degeneration, or AMD, is an eye disease that causes central vision loss and is the leading cause of legal blindness in people over the age of 50.
Symptoms include blurred or distorted vision, difficulty seeing faces and reading. While treatment includes management of the condition, there is currently no cure.
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