Judi Dench opens up about the eyesight battle which has left her unable to read scripts

Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench has told of her 'difficult' battle with failing eyesight that has left her unable to read scripts and struggling to watch films.
The legendary star of stage and screen suffers from macular degeneration - an age-related condition that leads to the gradual loss of vision  which her mother also had.

The 79-year-old told The Hollywood Reporter: 'I never want to make much of it, but it is difficult  very, very difficult.
'I can't read anymore. I can't paint like I used to. I try to watch movies, but it's quite difficult. But these are all of the negatives. I don't want to really think about all that. What I can do, I do. And I somehow get by.'


Even before her eyesight began to decline, Dame Judi preferred to have others read her scripts to her, as Steve Coogan did in her latest film Philomena which has earned the actress an Oscar nomination.
But Dame Judi, who has also recently undergone surgery on her knee, insists she has no plans to retire.

She said: 'I heard a woman being interviewed on the radio the other day who was 105, and I expected this very frail voice, but this wonderful voice came out and she said to this reporter who was interviewing her, "I'll tell you one thing," she said, "Don't stop anything. I never stop anything I'm doing because otherwise I'll never get started again." And I thought, "That'll do." '
Since making her professional acting debut at the Old Vic in 1957, Dame Judi has become one of Britain's - and Hollywood's - most acclaimed female actors.