Dame Judi Dench, 88, shares brutal question paramedic asked her

07 December 2023 , 14:43

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Dame Judi Dench, 88, reveals a paramedic once asked her if she 'had a carer' (Image: PA)

Dame Judi Dench said a paramedic once asked her if she 'had a carer' as she discussed ageing and her attitude towards it.

The iconic actress, 88, confessed she doesn't want to 'think about' ageing and prefers to live her life in the now. Dame Judi looked out of this world as she appeared as the cover star on the January edition of Good Housekeeping where she opened up about the future.

She was joined by her old pal Brendan O'Hea following the release of their new book Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent. "I have no attitude to it; I don’t want to even think about it," Dame Judi, whose fruitful career started in the 1950s, revealed to the publication.

"A paramedic once said to me, 'Do we have a carer? What’s your name?" and I said, 'I’ve just done eight weeks at the Garrick Theatre!'"

Dame Judi revealed a paramedic once asked if she had a carer (PA)

She shared her attitude towards ageing (PA)

Dame Judi added: "If you start looking ahead, you miss the bits that are happening now. I find it very hard to talk about two or three days’ time; I think, 'No, no, no, this bit is lovely'." Earlier this year, the actress said she was unable to read scripts due to her advanced macular degeneration.

Judi Dench, 88, tells she's now completely unable to read scripts due to illness

The star heartbreakingly told how it was 'impossible' to learn lines unaided as she discussed her battle with her eyesight condition, which has left her unable to read or write. Having first revealed her diagnosis in 2012, the James Bond star admitted that the condition really impacted her ability to be independent.

Dame Judi said AMD made it “impossible” to read scripts and even cut up her food. She had been open about the condition in the past, telling Louis Theroux about her struggles during an interview broadcast on BBC2 in November. She said she refused to retire but wasn't “doing much at the moment because I can’t see”.

Appearing on The Graham Norton Show with Hugh Jackman, Michael B. Jordan, Eugene Levy, Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Pink, the Oscar-winning actress explained: “It has become impossible and because I have a photographic memory, I need to find a machine that not only teaches me my lines but also tells me where they appear on the page. I used to find it very easy to learn lines and remember them. I could do the whole of Twelfth Night right now.”

The NHS describes the condition as 'age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common condition that affects the middle part of your vision. It usually first affects people in their 50s and 60s'.

Zara Woodcock