Judi Dench confirms retirement as she shares heartbreaking health update

British icon and Hollywood legend Judi Dench has shared a heartbreaking update on her health that’s sure to devastate fans.

Judi Dench has shared a heartbreaking update on her health and revealed that she may never appear on-screen again.

The Oscar-winning British star, 89, last appeared in the 2022 movie Spirited, starring as herself in Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds’ Christmas comedy.

Dame Judi Dench told a journalist at The RHS Chelsea Flower Show at Royal Hospital Chelsea that she has no plans to continue acting. Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images.

However, it may be set to be her final ever screen appearance.

Over the weekend, Dench was approached by a journalist while attending the Chelsea Flower Show in London.

When asked if she had any further projects in the pipeline for fans to look forward to, she responded: “No, no, I can’t even see!”

Her representative later said there was nothing more to add to this statement.

Dench suffers from age-related macular degeneration of her eyes, a condition that affects around 700,000 people in the UK alone.

Her condition has worsened since last year, when she confessed that she had to have help reading scripts.

Dame Judi Dench has confessed she’s likely never going to act again. Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images.

“I can’t see on a film set any more,” Dench said at the time. “And I can’t see to read. So I can’t see much. It’s difficult for me if I have any length of a part. I haven’t yet found a way. But you just deal with it. I have so many friends who will teach me the script.”

At the time, she told BBC journalist Louis Theroux that she had “no plans” to retire but that her eyesight was forcing her to take a break.

Thankfully, the Hollywood icon isn’t going through her journey alone. She previously has said she feels “lucky” to be supported by her partner David Mills after her husband, Michael Williams, died in 2001 from lung cancer.

“I never expected, not for a minute, that there would be anybody else in my life after Michael died”, she told The Mirror.

“I’ve had many, many good friends, but it’s been very unexpected to have somebody new who is as caring as my partner, David.

The star continued: “Someone to be able to share things with … I feel very lucky indeed. And to laugh with somebody is terribly important! Laughing is the most important thing. We laugh about everything.”

Originally published as Judi Dench confirms retirement as she shares heartbreaking health update