Dame Judi Dench, 90, reveals she 'can't leave her house alone' due to sight loss

22 January 2025, 12:00

Dame Judi Dench.
Dame Judi Dench. Picture: Alamy

By Alice Padgett

Dame Judi Dench, 90, can't leave the house alone due to her deteriorating eyesight.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

The veteran actor opened up about her vision loss, revealing that she battles macular degeneration.

She said, on Tinny Woodall's Fearless Podcast, that she can no longer leave her house alone, and the disease has had a profound impact on her daily life.

Dame Dench said: “Somebody will always be with me,

“I have to now because I can’t see and I will walk into something or fall over.”

The star explained how her limited eyesight has led to intense nervousness before attending events.

She said: “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.”

Pleased she no longer has to hide her condition, she added: "And fortunately, I don’t have to now because I pretend to have no eyesight.”

Read more: Amazon to launch 'urgent investigation' into how Southport killer Axel Rudakubana was able to buy 8inch knife online

Read more: Prince Harry awarded 'substantial' damages as he settles privacy lawsuit against publishers of The Sun

Dame Judi Dench at the BFI in December 2024.
Dame Judi Dench at the BFI in December 2024. Picture: Getty

Macular degeneration is a common medical condition that affects the centre of your vision, often affecting people in their 50s and 60s.

It makes daily life, like reading and recognising faces, difficult.

In 2023, Dame Dench confessed how much her condition has affected her work.

She said: “I mean, I can’t see on a film set any more, and I can’t see to read, so I can’t see much. But, you know, you just deal with it. Get on.”

She added, to the The Mirror's Notebook Magazine: “It’s difficult for me if I have any length of a part. I haven’t yet found a way. Because I have so many friends who will teach me the script. But I have a photographic memory.”

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Robbie Williams on Instagram

Robbie Williams pays £20,000 for comedian's iconic glasses and pipe

Garda

Man arrested after several people reportedly stabbed in Dublin

Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Reeves calls for economic growth talks with bank chiefs, after 'Stagflation' warning

Reform UK Holds a Regional Conference In Wiltshire

Farage claims Conservative Party has less than 100,000 members and blasts Kemi Badenoch for calling Reform member numbers 'fake'

Foreign Ministers attend an Arab League extraordinary meeting in Cairo on October 11, 2023.

Egypt to host emergency Arab League summit after Trump announces plan to displace 1.8 million Palestinians and 'take over Gaza'

Jack Fincham.

Love Island star admits to feeling like a 'failure' after spending '£1 million on drugs, alcohol and gambling'

Westminster Abbey and Church House

Church of England meeting at time of ‘unprecedented crisis’ after scandals and historical abuse claims

The plane was forced to make an emergency landing

easyJet flight forced to make emergency landing after pilot collapses on board

Joel Verite was among the first on the scene of the Southport knife attack where three girls were stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party.

Southport hero who came face-to-face with Rudakubana as he rushed to save dying girls says it was 'like a horror film'

Labour vows to punish any other MP or minister caught up in Andrew Gwynne WhatsApp group scandal

Labour vows to punish any MP caught up in Andrew Gwynne WhatsApp group scandal

Donald Trump has spoken to Vladimir Putin

Trump confirms he 'spoke to Putin about ending war in Ukraine' as Russian president 'wants to see people stop dying'

displaced Gazans walking toward Gaza City on January 27, 2025, after crossing the Netzarim corridor from the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli troops withdraw from key militarised corridor that splits Gaza in two as part of ceasefire deal

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour in Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, on Thursday afternoon.

Mysterious death of British couple in French villa suspected murder-suicide as investigators consider new theories

David Schwimmer has called for Elon Musk to ban Kanye West from X

Friends star David Schwimmer calls for Kanye West to be banned from X over 'hate-filled, ignorant' remarks

The NTSB recovers the debris of a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk involved in a mid-air collision near DCA in Arlington, VA.

All major parts of DC plane and Black Hawk helicopter involved in mid-air collision recovered, investigators confirm

A Thai hostage who was freed from Hamas, Pongsak Thaenna, hugs a relative upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi International Airport

'We never gave up hope': Freed Thai hostages in tears of joy as they reunite with families after more than a year