Content overview: “Judi Dench, 91, Says Sight Loss Ends Her Acting Career but Still ‘Besotted’ with Shakespea”. Dame Judi Dench has revealed that age-related macular degeneration has forced her to stop performing entirely. In a BBC Radio 4 Today programme interview, the 91-year-old actor said: “I can’t be on stage. I can’t read any more.” Dench first disclosed her diagnosis more than a decade ago, but the progressive condition has now left her unable to read or recognise faces.
Despite this, she remains deeply connected to Shakespeare’s sonnets, which she says she is “besotted by” and can still recite from memory. Her announcement marks the end of an extraordinary seven-decade career across stage and screen, including Oscar-winning work and iconic roles from M to Queen Elizabeth I. Dench’s candidness about sight loss highlights the challenges faced by millions living with macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision impairment in older adults. This listing links straight to the original page, where the content is available in full.