Dame Judi Dench, who will be making a cameo appearance in the new James Bond film, admitted she can no longer read the newspaper or drive due to a gradual loss of vision.
The seven-time Oscar nominee revealed she has had eight injections in one eye to slow the rate of deterioration, but nothing has worked.
“I can’t read the paper now, I can’t do the crossword, I can’t read a book,” she said in an interview with Michael Buerk in this week’s Radio Times,
Explaining how she gets by at work, Dame Judi said she has people who read and coach her lines with her.
The star, who was born in Yorkshire, revealed she is more worried about people thinking she is ignoring them as she can’t see.
She continued: “What worries me is some people don’t know, and they think: ‘Ooh, get her – she cut me dead!’ when I didn’t see them at all.”
Dame Judi explained there’s only one thing about the age-related macular degeneration which bothers her the most – she had to give up driving.
“A couple of years ago I stopped driving, which was one of the most traumatic moments of my life,” she divulged.
“It was absolutely appalling. But I just know I’ll kill somebody if I get behind the wheel of a car now.”
Dame Judi said she doesn’t want to know what the prognosis is and doesn’t ask.
“There’s nothing you can do,” Dame Judi said. “You adapt to it. So I ignore it altogether.”
Meanwhile, Dame Judi will make a surprise cameo in Daniel Craig’s last outing as James Bond.
The star became the first female M in 1995’s Goldeneye and has appeared in ever 007 movie ever since.
However, in the 50th anniversary movie, Skyfall, M died in the arms of James Bond.
In Spectre three years later, Dame Judi briefly reprised her role as M, leaving a video message shown before she had died.
And now, the actress is making another return, in the form of a picture.
During Princes Charles’ visit at the Pinewood Studios set of Bond 25 last week, the Duke of Cornwall had a look around the set with Miss Moneypenny actress, Naomie Harris.
In the snaps of them, a huge portrait of Judi Dench as M was seen in the background.
The new James Bond film is currently in production and is expected to hit cinemas in April next year.
Judi Dench’s interview is in this week’s issue of Radio Times, out now.