Dame Judi Dench opens up on filming challenges due to health

Dame Judi Dench has opened up about the challenges she faces due to her health conditions but insists she still wants to work as much she can.

The Oscar-winning actress has been one of the titans of the British acting industry for decades but, in recent years, her work has slowed due to ongoing health complications.

In 2012, she was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and she was also forced to give up driving due to her deteriorating eyesight. In an interview with The Daily Mirror's Notebook magazine, Dench opened up about these difficulties.

In particular, Dench said that she's having trouble learning lines for projects due to her eye condition, which leaves her barely able to see. Still, she insists she wants to work "as much as [she] can."

"I mean I can’t see on a film set anymore. And I can’t see to read. So I can’t see much. But, you know, you just deal with it. Get on," Dench said.

"It’s difficult for me if I have any length of a part. I haven’t yet found a way. Because I have so many friends who will teach me the script. But I have a photographic memory.”

Amongst her many roles, Dench is best known in the mainstream for her role as M in the Bond movies. She is also best known for playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love, which won her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1999.