Judi Dench Details 'Frightful Fall' Alone in Her Home, Rejects Idea of Replacing Jodie Whitacker in 'Doctor Who'
There is little doubt that Dame Judi Dench's trademark glitter will continue to shine beyond her 65-year career on the stage. One can easily surmise this when she shared that she fell, and yet refused to let this dampen her spirits. This, despite the fact that the fall was quite frightful for someone who is already 87.
In an interview with Saga Magazine, she described her "frightful" experience of tripping over the carpet and being unable to get up for half an hour. She was alone in her home and no one can help her up. Only a parrot for a company, she admitted that this is when the bid for independent living can be challenging.
"[She] kept saying: 'What are you doing? What are you doing?'" Judi revealed about what her parrot said when she fell. ""This is when you need a very convenient parrot who would phone somebody but she didn't," she added, probably half-joking. Fortunately for her, she still managed to get up.
"After half an hour I just got up."
Despite her advanced age, Judi says she has no panic buttons put in her home. "You want to be independent and it's very, very difficult," she shared.
Asked about her thoughts on aging, she declared: "I don't recommend it!" This does not mean she's letting it affect how she lives.
The words "carpe diem" are permanently inked on her wrist as a symbol of her determination to live each day as if it were her last.
It was six years ago that the actress made the courageous step as a birthday celebration for her 81st year.
She even said that "It didn't hurt."
"Well, it depends on what your level of pain is - but it didn't hurt me!," she said.
Judi, on the other hand, vehemently rejects the label "national treasure," calling it "stuffy!"
"It's stuffy! It sounds like you're in a museum with the fossils," she explained.
By receiving her first Academy Award at the ripe old age of 63, she has shown that getting older does not necessary imply slowing down.
The award came after a stunning performance in "Shakespeare in Love" in which she portrayed Queen Elizabeth.
She knows her strengths and her limitations though. She was recently interviewed about possibly replacing Jodie Whitacker and being the Fourteenth Doctor in "Doctor Who," and she claimed she's not up to it.
During an appearance on The One Show last night, Dench said that she'd "have to pass" on Doctor Who if she were ever approached to play the next incarnation of the Time Lord. She told presenter Alex Jones that it would be difficult for her. "Well, how am I going to be able to get about?, she first said. "You would have a TARDIS, so you'd be fine," Jones replied, to which Dench said, "I think I might pass."
"I think I might have to pass on that one," she continued. "I'd have to get someone to do the stunts for me, which wouldn't be any good, would it! I'm not up to that, I'm afraid."