"Someone always has to be with me"

The actress Judi Dench turned 90 in December. The "James Bond" star makes no secret of the fact that her advanced age brings with it one or two challenges.

In an episode of the podcast "Fearless" by British entrepreneur Trinny Woodall (60), she spoke openly about her age-related macular degeneration.

This is a progressive eye disease that she was diagnosed with in 2012 and has now almost completely robbed her of her sight. Nevertheless, the 90-year-old is not discouraged. Dench has not lost her sense of humor.

Today, someone always has to be with her. "Because I can no longer see and would walk into something or fall down," explains the actress in an interview with Woodall.

Judi Dench doesn't like being alone anyway

Despite this limitation, she also sees positive aspects to her situation, as she reveals with a smile. The illness protects her from loneliness, as she has not liked being alone since the death of her husband in 2001.

"I'm not good at being alone at all," she says. Laughing, Dench adds: "And luckily I don't have to now, because I pretend I don't have eyesight."

Macular degeneration mainly affects central vision, which means that those affected see less and less in the center of their field of vision. Outlines and colors can still be recognized for a long time, which helps sufferers in their everyday lives.

"Had to find a way to learn lines and things"

In order to cope with the progression of the disease, Dench relied for a long time on friends who repeatedly recited the lines to her when learning the lines for her film roles. "You have to find a way to get over the things that are very difficult for you. I had to find another way to learn lines and things," says the actress.

Despite the challenges posed by the disease, Dench remains optimistic and humorous. She has learned to cope with her situation and sees humor as her best recipe for dealing with the disease.

The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.

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