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Judi Dench, 91, says she 'loathes' 'national treasure' label and has no plans to retire

In an interview with The Times, Dame Judi Dench, 91, said she loathes being called a "national treasure" and wants to keep working despite macular degeneration. She said she wants to "banish" the word "retire".

2 outlets · 0L · 1C · 1R First reported Account updated
Image: Daily Mail
Image: Evening Standard

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The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2Dame Judi Dench, 91, has said she "loathes" being called a "national treasure", in an interview with The Times. Centre · 1She said the label "makes me sound like a dusty old relic that’s been stuffed away in the back of the cupboard, along with some dinosaur fossils and a broken Roman shield". Mixed · 2She said she is often asked when she will retire and wants to "banish" the word, saying she wants to be like Newton Blick, who died in his dressing room after a performance, and to be one of those women who throw themselves out of planes at 100.

Mixed · 2Dench was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012. She said she copes by acting "as if I can see", and that people sometimes think she is "cutting them dead" when she does not smile or recognise them. Mixed · 2She can no longer read scripts, even enlarged, so she has found another way to learn lines. She said the condition made her realise she has a photographic memory, and that with friends' help and enough time to prepare she can "somehow muddle through". Centre · 1The Evening Standard adds that she recalled a Hollywood producer telling her early in her career that she would "never make a movie because you have every single thing wrong with your face", and that she then focused on theatre.

Right · 1The Daily Mail adds earlier reporting. Last December she told the Radio Times she feared she would "lose the plot" through sight and short-term memory problems, and that both eyes were beyond treatment. In May the Mail on Sunday reported that she uses £300 RayBan Meta smart glasses, suggested by the charity Sight for Surrey, to read scripts aloud to her. Centre · 1The Standard adds that the Shaftesbury Theatre in London's West End is to be renamed the Judi Dench Theatre in February next year. It also lists her honours, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award and seven Olivier Awards.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Career-focused interview report that leads with the 'national treasure' quote and her honours and best-known roles.
Emphasis
Her awards, her screen and stage career, the early Hollywood producer anecdote and the theatre renaming.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention the Radio Times interview, her fears of losing the plot, or the AI glasses.
For example
“Throughout her career – which has spanned seven decades – she has won an Academy Award” — Evening Standard

Right1 outlet

Framing
Leads with the 'loathes' quote and her wish to die in her dressing room, then adds earlier coverage of her health.
Emphasis
Her eyesight, memory worries, reliance on assistants and the AI glasses.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention the Hollywood producer anecdote or the theatre renaming.
Charged language
“legendary”“It's a crusher”
For example
“wants to 'die in her dressing room after a performance'” — Daily Mail