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If you want some cozy, festive viewing this Christmas week, look no further than Sky Arts with tea judi denchIn which the legendary actor is seen being visited by Sir at his Surrey home kenneth branagh For a trip down memory lane.
The pair have worked together countless times during their decades-long career, frequently appearing on stage and the big screen in Shakespeare adaptations, as well as casting each other in their own projects. Dench directed Branagh in a production of the John Osborne play Don’t look back in angerWhile she has appeared in the big screen version of small village and oscar winner belfast,
In recent years, Dame Judy, now 91 Spoke openly about suffering from health problems including vision lossWhich has made him unable to work as an actor. Thankfully, this format suits the star perfectly and provides plenty of touching moments along the way…
Judy nodded to bond
Dench was the third actress and first woman to play MI6 chief “M” in the James Bond franchise, and she welcomes visitors to her home with a doormat that reads: “I’ve been waiting for you, Mr. Bond.”
“If you’ve played Mr. Bond it’s a very good entrance,” commented Branagh, who previously said he would love to play one of 007’s adversaries.
Dench took over the role of detective chief from Bernard Lee in 1995 and made her debut as the straight-talking “M”. gold eyeWhere, with glee, he branded Pierce Brosnan’s 007 “a sexist misogynist dinosaur”. After seven films, In a decision that brought tears to Dench’s eyesThe producers decided to kill off her character. heavy rain,
potty mouthed parrot
Dench’s constant companion in her cozy abode is her parrot Sweetheart, but don’t be fooled by the pet’s adorable name.
“You have to fight the parrot, who’s very talkative,” Dench tells Branagh, before doing her best Kat Slater accent to reveal the bird’s favorite phrase: “She says… ‘You’re a slag.'” Branagh laughed out loud, thankfully avoiding humiliation. Dench’s Previous house guests haven’t been so lucky,
Philomena The actor had earlier revealed The parrot was given to him as a gift during the pandemicDespite the bird’s foul mouth, Dench has said that she “wouldn’t live without it,” [her] For the world”
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Remembering her late husband Michael Williams
Dench and her late husband, Michael Williams, were married for nearly three decades when she died in 2001 at the age of 65. They have a daughter, Finty Williams, now 53.
As Dench leads Branagh around the house she previously shared with Michael, he points to an artwork and says: “I want to ask you about this painting, Jude, because it’s a stunning likeness of the wonderful Mr. Michael Williams.”
Crying, she replies: “Michael and I were married just 30 years when he died in 2001. Look at that, Kenneth. I mean, you knew him. It’s so… it’s brilliantly portrayed. I love it, I really love it.”
Later the pair watch a clip starring Williams henry vcausing Dench to cry silently as Branagh praises her late husband’s performance.
Stroll through the memorial gardens
Dench’s home contains plenty of mementos from her decades on stage and screen, and tributes to the friends she and Williams made. But one of the most poignant moments of Branagh’s visit is his walk through the garden.
In a voiceover, Dench explains how she, Williams, and their daughter decided to “dedicate the trees in the garden to our friends who are no longer with us”. The pair stop at a crab apple tree dedicated to Dame Maggie Smith – or as Dench affectionately calls her, “Mags”. “It was [no fruit] It was on to the day of her memorial and there was one in there, and I put it in my pocket,” says Dench.
As Dench and Branagh go for a walk, hand in hand, they spot plaques hanging delicately on tree trunks commemorating composer Stephen Sondheim, Branagh’s Harry Potter co-star Alan Rickman and Old Vic artistic director Michael Bentall, to whom Dench says she owes her career.
tea with judi dench Broadcast on Sky Arts and currently available on NOW.