0:00:02 > 0:00:04Judi Dench is our favourite actress.
0:00:04 > 0:00:06Have a care with my name. You will wear it out.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09I think we'd be quite happy if she became the next queen.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12She's won awards in every form of the art,
0:00:12 > 0:00:15from weighty Shakespeare...
0:00:15 > 0:00:17- ..to Hollywood epics... - Come back alive.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20She is a star, whether she likes it or not.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23Without question, one of the greatest actresses.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- ..and television drama.- Shut up. BABY CRIES
0:00:26 > 0:00:28Judi Dench is a tough old boot,
0:00:28 > 0:00:31if I can call a dame of the acting empire that.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34When I meet this woman, I'm going to hate her.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39Half the world thinks she is actually part of the royal family.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41She really has your balls in a noose.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43LAUGHTER
0:00:43 > 0:00:48These are the many faces of Dame Judi Dench.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03Britain has a tradition of bestowing high honours on actors at the top of their game.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Men get a knighthood, and women the title of dame.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Any cheap comic or talk-show host can get a knighthood,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14but to be a dame, you've got to be a serious actress!
0:01:15 > 0:01:22Judi Dench was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1988,
0:01:22 > 0:01:26marking a humble career of service to the monarch and the public.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Dame Judi was honoured when she was most familiar as a sitcom actress.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33So, how often am I foolish?
0:01:33 > 0:01:38Ten years later, she made three films that redefined her career almost overnight.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42In 1995, she shook James Bond into shape...
0:01:42 > 0:01:46- I think you're a sexist, misogynist dinosaur.- Point taken.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49You need someone who has an impact in two minutes.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52..and found an unlikely co-star in Mrs Brown.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55CLOCK CHIMES Get him out!
0:01:55 > 0:01:59She's just blissfully in the right job.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02By the time she won an Oscar for Shakespeare In Love,
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Hollywood nobility was falling at her feet.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06And?
0:02:06 > 0:02:07She's very much an example
0:02:07 > 0:02:11of somebody who connected with a movie audience
0:02:11 > 0:02:15much later in her life than probably most people looking back now recognise.
0:02:15 > 0:02:20They would assume she's been in that position for a long time, but she wasn't.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26Worldwide fame had been achieved in just three films in three years.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29For Judi Dench, that's hardly surprising.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32She's been winning awards from the very beginning of a 50-year career,
0:02:32 > 0:02:37which has had more twists than a epic Shakespearean drama.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39But for a star with a huge reputation,
0:02:39 > 0:02:42she's always kept a low profile off-screen.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45She doesn't like being interviewed. She doesn't.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50It's not an affectation. She genuinely does not like people prying into her background.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52She's genuinely shy about that.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Judi studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London,
0:02:56 > 0:03:01although she has confided that acting was not her first choice.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05I was going to be a designer, decor and costumes and things,
0:03:05 > 0:03:10and then that kind of got, like a disease in a way,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14so I just kind of overnight thought, "I'll have a go at the other".
0:03:14 > 0:03:15She shone,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19and in 1957 auditioned for Michael Benthall's Old Vic Company
0:03:19 > 0:03:21before she had even graduated.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25I did an audition and Michael said, "I'm going to take the most enormous gamble.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29"We'd like you to play Ophelia in Hamlet." I just burst into tears.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33It was the start of a lifelong passion for Shakespeare,
0:03:33 > 0:03:36where great actors master the English language.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Here's the smell of the blood...
0:03:43 > 0:03:46..still!
0:03:48 > 0:03:52All the perfumes of Arabia
0:03:52 > 0:03:56will not sweeten
0:03:56 > 0:03:58this...
0:03:58 > 0:04:01..little...
0:04:01 > 0:04:03..hand.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08SHE CROAKS
0:04:10 > 0:04:12The thing about Shakespeare
0:04:12 > 0:04:18that makes it such an exciting prospect for an actor is the words.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20He gives you the most incredible words,
0:04:20 > 0:04:22the most extraordinary use of language,
0:04:22 > 0:04:28and the challenge for you is to make those words sound like what you want it to say.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31We've watched Shakespeare where the actor doesn't know what he's saying,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34so we go, "I haven't a clue what it's about"
0:04:34 > 0:04:38but when an actor really knows what they're saying and those words come alive,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40it's the greatest thrill.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47But in the '60s, the theatre faced a revolution.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Television brought gritty dramas right into the home.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54Z-Cars spoke the language of the streets.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57The hunt was on for feisty actors with passion
0:04:57 > 0:05:02who could capture the rebellious young spirit of the time.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06Judi's time in the stage spotlight had not gone unnoticed.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10- Hey!- Agh!- Hey, come back here! - No! No!- Come on!
0:05:10 > 0:05:15- She's only a bird, you can handle her.- Thank you!
0:05:15 > 0:05:20- Where do your parents live? - 25 Lonsdale Road. - You don't live with them?- No.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23When did you leave home, then, love?
0:05:23 > 0:05:25Just tonight, was it?
0:05:25 > 0:05:27No, "love". A year ago.
0:05:27 > 0:05:28I walked out a year ago.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32- And left ten years before that, if you know what I mean!- I don't.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Don't push yourself explaining cos I'm not that interested.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40John Hopkins wrote the episode featuring Judi.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43He took her character as inspiration for a new drama,
0:05:43 > 0:05:45Talking To A Stranger.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Far from the classical tradition of Shakespeare,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51this was cutting-edge stuff.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58One of the really great landmark TV dramas,
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Talking To A Stranger,
0:06:00 > 0:06:06often said to be the first real classic work of the medium.
0:06:06 > 0:06:12And in that she plays very much a figure of the period,
0:06:12 > 0:06:18you know, this woman who is pregnant by a man who isn't her husband.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20Jessica Adams, Leonard Ngana.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Hi, little friend.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24He's my husband!
0:06:24 > 0:06:27- Was my husband.- Still am, baby!- Mm!
0:06:27 > 0:06:32Going to have to do something about that. Can't have a baby born with the name Ngana!
0:06:32 > 0:06:34You think you're going to have a baby?
0:06:34 > 0:06:36You're really optimistic.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Certainly I can have a baby.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43- My baby?- How did we achieve that - remote control?! Be your ever-loving age, sweetie!
0:06:43 > 0:06:47- No, not your baby!- You're my wife, you're going to have my baby.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52Pink with blond hair and blue eyes, I hope. One head, two arms and two legs.
0:06:52 > 0:06:58It dealt with what we would now call a dysfunctional family.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02But I think we didn't view it as that. It dealt with tragedy.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06- I thought you were going to be... - Sick?
0:07:06 > 0:07:08So did I.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12- What's the matter with you?- Nothing! - Oh, don't be silly -
0:07:12 > 0:07:15- Something's the matter! - I'm perfectly all right!
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Each of the four episodes takes the perspective of a different family member.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29It's about the generation gap and Mother's shattered hopes when she was a bride.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32- I'm so happy!- 'Happy, happy, happy!'
0:07:32 > 0:07:35I think the pill was 1961,
0:07:35 > 0:07:41and women were taking responsibility for our own reproduction
0:07:41 > 0:07:43and also for...
0:07:43 > 0:07:47..who one wanted to sleep with or one didn't want to sleep with.
0:07:47 > 0:07:53So for my generation and Judi's it wasn't such a big thing,
0:07:53 > 0:07:57but I imagine for our parents watching it, yes, it was.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01To see what was actually happening with their children
0:08:01 > 0:08:04would've been perhaps alarming.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Ow! TEACUP CLATTERS
0:08:07 > 0:08:09- You have a filthy mouth! - I better go and wash it.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12How dare you speak like that in this house?
0:08:12 > 0:08:16- Oh, that's right!- Pray, tell me, what's so special about this house?
0:08:16 > 0:08:20You think he's going to be offended? Why doesn't He strike me dead!
0:08:20 > 0:08:25- I will not having you making your cheap jokes! - Why doesn't He strike me dead?
0:08:25 > 0:08:29- You think you're so important! - I think anyone who needs something -
0:08:29 > 0:08:32- Your friends think that's very funny, I suppose.- I haven't got any!
0:08:32 > 0:08:37- You could butter them on that bread, and you still wouldn't choke! - Be quiet!- I've just started!
0:08:37 > 0:08:41- You don't make me laugh! - Five elephants and a camel in a phone box wouldn't!
0:08:41 > 0:08:46- If you can't control your tongue, it's better if you don't come and see us again.- Mother, no.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50I remember when they were rehearsing, all four of them,
0:08:50 > 0:08:54I would ask Christopher Morahan if I could sit and watch.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59I used to stay behind after rehearsal had finished just to see them.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01She was known as a classical actress,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05we knew she'd been at the Old Vic and the RSC,
0:09:05 > 0:09:11and here she was totally modern, fresh, very... quite raw,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14a very intensely emotional performance.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18It was breathtaking. It was a slice of life, you know?
0:09:18 > 0:09:23Always providing, that is, I go that natural-type death.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Myself, I put a lot of faith in the Third World War.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28And no four-minute warning!
0:09:28 > 0:09:31- Pull yourself together, Terry.- Pow!
0:09:31 > 0:09:33BABY SCREAMS
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Women were questioning their place in society in the '60s.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40In the film, Four In The Morning, Judi played a young mother
0:09:40 > 0:09:42trapped at home with a new baby.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49I suppose we could live the rest of our lives like this.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54- If you're going to go on resenting me...- But I don't resent you!
0:09:54 > 0:09:59It's just, you can... you can get out of these four walls!
0:09:59 > 0:10:03You can see your friends, you can go for a drink, you can break away!
0:10:03 > 0:10:07I'm not prepared to cook your meals, look after your baby and be here when you feel like it.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11- Oh, come on, darling, that's your part of the bargain!- Bargain?!
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I'm sorry, but that's the way society happens to be!
0:10:14 > 0:10:17I'm not talking about society, I'm talking about me!
0:10:17 > 0:10:24She captures something quite brilliant and quite moving in that film.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27I suppose it's post-natal depression
0:10:27 > 0:10:32in the days when people didn't really use expressions like that.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34But that melancholy,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38that sense of a woman trapped in the home,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41waiting for feminism to happen...
0:10:41 > 0:10:45This is a woman who is destined for real greatness,
0:10:45 > 0:10:47not just on the stage but on the screen, too,
0:10:47 > 0:10:50because the camera looks at her
0:10:50 > 0:10:57and it sees an interior world that we can't quite know,
0:10:57 > 0:10:59but you know that within this character
0:10:59 > 0:11:04is a world of sadness and a world of experience.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13Four In The Morning won Judi Dench her first BAFTA as Most Promising Newcomer.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15She had shone in Shakespeare
0:11:15 > 0:11:20and captured the melancholy mood of a changing society with documentary precision.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23A career in film and television was unfolding.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26But Judi Dench was not about to be typecast
0:11:26 > 0:11:28or leave the theatre.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30GENTLE PIANO MELODY
0:11:33 > 0:11:36UPBEAT MUSIC
0:11:36 > 0:11:40In rehearsals, Judi prepared for the lead role in a new production.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44But this wasn't Shakespeare. This was musical theatre.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48When she was cast as Sally Bowles in Cabaret,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52a lot of people thought that was an utterly ludicrous idea.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Everyone was, "What's this going to be like?"
0:11:54 > 0:11:57But she was wonderful! Absolutely amazing!
0:11:57 > 0:12:01Sally Bowles is not meant to be the world's greatest singer anyway,
0:12:01 > 0:12:02or the world's greatest dancer.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06I mean, unlike lovely Liza, who changed it when she did the film,
0:12:06 > 0:12:10but the musical and the book and the play
0:12:10 > 0:12:13is actually Sally Bowles isn't supposed to be wonderful.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16# Hush up, don't tell Mama
0:12:16 > 0:12:18# Shush up, don't tell Mama
0:12:18 > 0:12:20# Don't tell Mama
0:12:20 > 0:12:22# Whatever you do #
0:12:23 > 0:12:26I mean, she can sing, she can dance. She can do all those things.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Often the best singers don't sing all the extraordinary notes.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34They actually make you feel a song and make you believe the lyric
0:12:34 > 0:12:37and it's the feeling that you get over, not just the notes.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42# So won't you kindly do a girl A great big favour?
0:12:42 > 0:12:44# And please, my sweet patater... #
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Cabaret opened to fantastic reviews
0:12:47 > 0:12:51and set up Judi as a musical theatre star.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56She played it so well and she was wonderful, absolutely amazing as Sally Bowles.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Judi Dench's performance as Sally Bowles in Cabaret
0:13:00 > 0:13:04will never, ever be eclipsed.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08It was everything that Christopher Isherwood ever dreamt of.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13And she sang, too, and sang wonderfully in her way,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16but she summoned up a whole era,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20she summoned up a whole way of life, a whole generation.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23There you are in 1967, as early as that,
0:13:23 > 0:13:26where she was giving a definitive performance.
0:13:26 > 0:13:27That's quite something.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30# Doesn't even have an inkling
0:13:30 > 0:13:33# That I left them all in Antwerp
0:13:33 > 0:13:34# And I'm touring on my own #
0:13:35 > 0:13:40Judi played the lead role of Sally Bowles in the original stage production of Cabaret
0:13:40 > 0:13:43and went on to star in The Good Companions
0:13:43 > 0:13:46for 255 performances.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50She focused on theatre throughout the '70s.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53She could command the stage in anything, from Shakespeare to musicals
0:13:53 > 0:13:58and had a BAFTA to show for gritty television performances.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01But her career was about to take another twist
0:14:01 > 0:14:04with a chance to co-star in TV comedy
0:14:04 > 0:14:07alongside her husband Michael Williams.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Michael read the scripts and said to Judi,
0:14:10 > 0:14:12"These are good. We should do it."
0:14:14 > 0:14:17# A fine romance
0:14:17 > 0:14:19# With no kisses #
0:14:19 > 0:14:25A Fine Romance ran for four series on ITV from 1981 to 1984,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29giving Judi a high profile with a mainstream TV audience.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31It was her first sitcom
0:14:31 > 0:14:37and I remember there were things in the Press that said, "Judi Dench doing a sitcom!"
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Horror of horrors.
0:14:40 > 0:14:46But we had the most fantastic time. It's one of my favourite jobs.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49- Laura?- Yes?- Laura.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53- This is Mike.- Hello, hello.- Hello.
0:14:53 > 0:14:59I played Judi's younger sister, who's very happily married
0:14:59 > 0:15:04and Judi played the spinster older sister,
0:15:04 > 0:15:07who meets Michael,
0:15:07 > 0:15:09who's a gardener,
0:15:09 > 0:15:14and it's about their love affair and how they get together - a fine romance.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17MUSIC PLAYS IN BACKGROUND
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Laura is a linguist!
0:15:19 > 0:15:23- Ahh!- Somewhat.- Bon.- Oui.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25They loved to work together.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30They used to go off at weekends and do poetry recitals and Shakespeare readings
0:15:30 > 0:15:34after having a week of rehearsing A Fine Romance.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39- Good night.- Er, well, let me give you a lift home at least.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Oh!
0:15:46 > 0:15:48LAUGHTER
0:16:18 > 0:16:20- Where to?- Fulham.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23- Is it out of your way?- Yes.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28A rose features in the titles and often in the programme,
0:16:28 > 0:16:33inspired by a real-life weekly romantic gesture by Judi's husband Michael.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37He gave her a rose just after they first got together.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41And he carried on doing that. He used to give her a rose every week.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45She used to come in with it sometimes, into rehearsal.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49That's a wonderful, romantic thing to do!
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Their daughter, Finty, has continued the rose-giving tradition
0:16:55 > 0:16:58since Michael died in 2001.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00That's why.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02- "I- ove- you"?
0:17:02 > 0:17:06Family has always come first for Judi.
0:17:06 > 0:17:12I think she was often offered things, she was certainly offered theatre in America, on Broadway,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15which might've led to movies from Broadway.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20She never wanted to leave Michael and Finty. They came first. That was a lot to do with it.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23THEME MUSIC: "As Time Goes By"
0:17:31 > 0:17:36Judi left the world of sitcom at the end of the run to return to more serious roles.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40But destiny was to call her back for a new BBC comedy,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43As Time Goes By.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49She wasn't first choice for that part at all.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53I like to rub that in a bit to her. Are you watching?
0:17:53 > 0:17:55We were going to have Jean Simmons.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59We had lots of lunches with her. We waited a time
0:17:59 > 0:18:03and then we thought we ought to get on with it,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07so Judi Dench was approached.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12I thought she'd never do it, but someone said, "Let's try her."
0:18:12 > 0:18:15We didn't know at the time that Judi never reads a script,
0:18:15 > 0:18:20she just likes working, so if someone offers her a job, she takes it.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22She's crazy really.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27I don't think she knew who I was or Syd Lotterby, the director, but she thought, "It's a job!"
0:18:28 > 0:18:32Pretty well everyone said, "Oh, how wonderful!
0:18:32 > 0:18:35"You know Jude?" I said, "No, I don't."
0:18:35 > 0:18:38"You've never worked with Jude?!" "No, I haven't."
0:18:38 > 0:18:43"Never, ever? She's wonderful! You'll love her."
0:18:43 > 0:18:46And after about 15 people had said this, I thought,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50"Bloody hell, when I meet this woman I'm going to hate her."
0:18:50 > 0:18:52I mean, I was really right off her.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55I shan't be a moment. Mum, Sandy, Lionel.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00- ALL: Hello.- Do sit down. Two minutes. - Right.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05Can I get you a drink?
0:19:05 > 0:19:09- No, thanks. I've got a taxi waiting. - Right.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Geoffrey and Judi play characters who were separated as young lovers,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20then unexpectedly reconnect many years later.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23AUDIENCE LAUGH TENTATIVELY
0:19:30 > 0:19:32- Shall we get on?- Yes, of course.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37The audience in that sitcom studio are watching it on the big screen,
0:19:37 > 0:19:41because half the time, their view is obscured by cameras and set,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44but still you're getting a live reaction from the audience,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47so that requires some theatrical experience
0:19:47 > 0:19:51to be able to play to the audience and with the audience.
0:19:52 > 0:19:58Ahh! Now, isn't that a picture of domestic bliss?
0:19:59 > 0:20:00Ohh.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03The series had a natural narrative arc to it.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07We thought it would go for three series
0:20:07 > 0:20:10and when they get together, that would be the natural end,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14but I think Bob Larbey decided that there was more to it.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Let's see how they get on living together.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21He was written as a very independent, curmudgeonly character
0:20:21 > 0:20:26and she was settled with her life and her daughter,
0:20:26 > 0:20:31and so there seemed to be some interest in keeping that going and seeing how that went.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33So he moves into her house in Holland Park
0:20:33 > 0:20:37and then it went on for another six series after that.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Over the course of the series,
0:20:39 > 0:20:41we see the couple kiss again
0:20:41 > 0:20:44and, in the fullness of time, get married.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46I remember, during the first series,
0:20:46 > 0:20:51Judi and I having lunch and saying, "How much do you think we'll get out of this?"
0:20:51 > 0:20:54We said, "Maybe it'll go for more than one series.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56"Maybe it'll go for three."
0:20:57 > 0:21:02We were very lucky, weren't we? We got a second chance.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Some people never get a first.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10I love you, Lionel.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14Just as well, because I love you, too.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18It's an indefinable chemistry, I think, between Geoffrey and Judi.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21That's undeniably what is at its route.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25And it's written by someone who can write
0:21:25 > 0:21:31the kind of dialogue that seems perfectly natural.
0:21:31 > 0:21:38The huge surprise about it was that it's incredibly popular in the States.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43And we still get little cheques come in from the US of A, which is lovely!
0:21:43 > 0:21:46That was the huge surprise.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49And the fact that it's a bit cross generational,
0:21:49 > 0:21:52obviously it is middle-class, semi-geriatric,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56but it seems to appeal to most people.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Oh, damn and blast.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01What now?
0:22:02 > 0:22:04I need a pee.
0:22:04 > 0:22:09As Time Goes By shows how comfortable Dame Judi Dench is with comedy.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12That's no surprise for the actors and crew who work with her
0:22:12 > 0:22:16and it has provided fans with a peak of the playful Judi Dench behind the scenes
0:22:16 > 0:22:18and often on camera.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22..and had long black hair and... SHE STIFLES LAUGHTER
0:22:22 > 0:22:25It's written down!
0:22:25 > 0:22:27AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:22:34 > 0:22:38We did have the odd retake, erm,
0:22:38 > 0:22:40and some of them were down to her.
0:22:40 > 0:22:45Stop making excuses and face facts! You're making it sound like an accusation.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48We all care about you and want to help!
0:22:48 > 0:22:50You simply can't turn a blind ear to your hearing!
0:22:50 > 0:22:54- Is that a mixed metaphor?- Blind eye! AUDIENCE LAUGH
0:22:55 > 0:23:00In a way, Judi wasn't usually quite ready, if I can say that.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05It didn't matter a tuppeny damn because she just does it, you know.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08Well, don't worry, I won't leave you to do it alone.
0:23:08 > 0:23:09That way, if they rush us,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12at least we won't be a... dwindling minority!
0:23:12 > 0:23:16I've no idea what I'm saying! No idea!
0:23:16 > 0:23:20The audience loved it if we got it wrong. They loved her more and more.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23Almost everyone you meet intends to write a book.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26All you have to do is express a deep interest
0:23:26 > 0:23:28and suddenly they're very accommodating.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31SHE GIGGLES Sorry!
0:23:32 > 0:23:34She has a wicked sense of humour
0:23:34 > 0:23:37and, I think other people have pointed out,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40probably one of the dirtiest laughs in English theatre.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42SHE LAUGHS
0:23:49 > 0:23:52She's a very, very mischievous actress.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56You did know there was something wrong! You knew about his thumb...
0:23:56 > 0:24:00His thumb! AUDIENCE LAUGH
0:24:03 > 0:24:05It's nothing to do with me!
0:24:05 > 0:24:08- It's everything! - It's nothing to do with me!
0:24:08 > 0:24:12- He's always like -- All week, she hasn't known this line!
0:24:12 > 0:24:15So I've been going...
0:24:15 > 0:24:17He's been doing this!
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Tonight he doesn't do it!
0:24:20 > 0:24:22I didn't do it tonight, so...!
0:24:22 > 0:24:27Is Eileen Atkins free? Maggie Smith?
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Geraldine McEwan?
0:24:30 > 0:24:34During her years in sitcom, Judi had continued her stage career
0:24:34 > 0:24:37and added to her cabinet of film awards.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40A Room With A View and A Handful Of Dust won BAFTAs
0:24:40 > 0:24:44and she was nominated as Best Actress in Wetherby and Behaving Badly.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47She wasn't a comedy actress in serious roles,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50she was a serious actress with a serious sense of humour.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53She doesn't want people to be in awe of her
0:24:53 > 0:24:56or treat her any differently.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58I mean, inevitably, you do,
0:24:58 > 0:25:05but she uses humour as a way of...
0:25:05 > 0:25:10..making people not be in any way subservient to her.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12She just wants to be a friend.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15I had done one very small TV part
0:25:15 > 0:25:18and then I was cast as Judi Dench's daughter,
0:25:18 > 0:25:24which unbelievably blew my mind because I knew all about her, I thought she was amazing.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27I was so nervous about meeting her.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29How on earth was I going to be able to act with her?
0:25:29 > 0:25:33And I think the thing I felt about her the most was,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37she was unbelievably human and humble
0:25:37 > 0:25:40and totally one of the gang.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46- I love you!- And you.
0:25:46 > 0:25:51She larked around all the time, joked all the time,
0:25:51 > 0:25:55was always making everybody laugh and have fun
0:25:55 > 0:25:57and the minute the camera turned,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00her concentration was absolutely focused.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03I used to be fascinated by it, how she could talk to people
0:26:03 > 0:26:08and be joking and laughing and seemingly not in the zone at all,
0:26:08 > 0:26:12and then something would happen and she would go "click".
0:26:12 > 0:26:15It was really amazing to watch.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19In sitcom, Judi epitomised middle-class, well-behaved Britain.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21In Behaving Badly,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24she took us back into the most uncomfortable areas.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27The first scene we ever did was this very tricky scene
0:26:27 > 0:26:31of me coming home and telling her that I was going to leave her.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35'I was thrilled and excited
0:26:35 > 0:26:38'and a little bit nervous,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42'as you always are with a great celebrity doing a part.'
0:26:42 > 0:26:46- We have to talk.- I'm listening.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48This is the trickiest bit.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53'She instinctively just kept her back to me.'
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Her name's Rebecca.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58She's a journalist.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03She's a bit younger than I am.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Well, a lot, really. It doesn't matter.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09'There was something about this back that had a special vulnerability.'
0:27:09 > 0:27:13I'm trying to think of a way to tell you this kindly, but there isn't one.
0:27:14 > 0:27:19Bridget, I'm in love and Rebecca, she seems to love me.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22'She manages to convey from every pore,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25'whether it's front or back or sideways,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28'something massive.'
0:27:29 > 0:27:34By 1995, Dame Judi was a woman of more mature years.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Star of a long-running TV sitcom,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40she'd enjoyed an enviable award-winning career on stage and screen.
0:27:40 > 0:27:45She might've thought she had done it all, but she was about to find a new audience.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47TV is where I first saw Judi Dench
0:27:47 > 0:27:54and there was definitely a point in my life when other people, much more educated and learned than myself,
0:27:54 > 0:27:59were talking about Judi Dench as a great actress and having seen her on the stage
0:27:59 > 0:28:02and I was thinking, "What, Judi Dench off As Time Goes By?
0:28:02 > 0:28:07"The same Judi Dench who was in A Fine Romance?"
0:28:07 > 0:28:09So I never quite put the two together.
0:28:09 > 0:28:14She definitely was a sitcom actress when I first knew of her.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18That's just what I thought she was and I'm sure I wasn't alone in that.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20MUSIC: "James Bond theme"
0:28:22 > 0:28:25- You were saying.- No, no, I was just -
0:28:25 > 0:28:31Good. Because if I want sarcasm, Mr Tanner, I'll talk to my children, thank you very much.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35It was 1995. GoldenEye launched Pierce Brosnan's Bond
0:28:35 > 0:28:38and revealed a Secret Service that had changed.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42You know, this sort of behaviour could qualify as sexual harassment.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46Really? What's the penalty for that?
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Some day you have to make good on your innuendos.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54Well, the Bond films are extraordinary in their size.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56I mean, until you make a film like that,
0:28:56 > 0:29:00you have absolutely no idea of the whole machine,
0:29:00 > 0:29:04not even the film itself, but the whole rigmarole that goes with it.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08It was extraordinary that when we all started the first one, GoldenEye,
0:29:08 > 0:29:11it was an incredible feeling of excitement.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14I think you're a sexist, misogynist dinosaur,
0:29:14 > 0:29:18a relic of the Cold War, whose boyish charms are wasted on me.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20Point taken.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24There's another side to her, the bitchy side, the tough side, the hard side.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28If you think for one moment I don't have the balls to send a man out to die,
0:29:28 > 0:29:30your instincts are dead wrong.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33I've no compunction about sending you to your death.
0:29:33 > 0:29:38That's why she made such an impact, despite a small amount of screen time.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40You don't like me, Bond. You don't like my methods.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43You think I'm an accountant, a bean-counter,
0:29:43 > 0:29:47- more interested in my numbers. - The thought had occurred to me.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49The thing about M is, she bosses James Bond about.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53James Bond is one of the ultimate movie tough guys,
0:29:53 > 0:29:56but M, played by Judi Dench, has the upper hand.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59- Bond...- GoldenEye introduced Judi Dench to the world.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01..come back alive.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04They saw a newcomer in her 60s.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08Being interviewed by the press and everything, the Americans said,
0:30:08 > 0:30:11"So we've seen you as M. What else have you been doing?"
0:30:11 > 0:30:14Jude said it was like 40 years of experience
0:30:14 > 0:30:15completely didn't matter!
0:30:16 > 0:30:19M was a small role in a big film,
0:30:19 > 0:30:23but even as it was released, there were preparations for a big role in a small film
0:30:23 > 0:30:28that would confirm Judi Dench as an international movie star.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31Mr Brown, ma'am.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Mrs Brown told the story of the relationship
0:30:34 > 0:30:39between Queen Victoria and the Scottish ghillie John Brown, played by Billy Connelly.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43It turned out to be a really terrific marriage.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45She loved him
0:30:45 > 0:30:51and he, in turn, felt that he was dining at the high table,
0:30:51 > 0:30:56exactly as the character that he was playing does.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58And so the symbiosis between the two of them,
0:30:58 > 0:31:03and Billy feeling that he was going to have to pull off a legitimate performance
0:31:03 > 0:31:09as opposed to winging it, which is what he does so spectacularly onstage,
0:31:09 > 0:31:13was a very interesting dynamic, very productive for the film.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17Mr Brown is here, ma'am.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21That was made for BBC Television, that film,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24financed by the BBC entirely,
0:31:24 > 0:31:26and it was made at a time
0:31:26 > 0:31:31when films had a small chance of translating to the big screen.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35He kept saying, "This'll go in the cinema!" And we thought, "Shut up."
0:31:35 > 0:31:39The whole court was represented by Richard Pasco and me.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42We were the only courtiers. It was a very small budget.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47She's been in deep mourning
0:31:47 > 0:31:52and more or less dysfunctional since Albert's death.
0:31:52 > 0:31:57You have a brother in service here, do you not?
0:31:57 > 0:31:59- I forget his name.- Archie.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02Yes.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06- That will be company for you.- Yes.
0:32:06 > 0:32:11It was a tough scene for Billy. It was the first scene he did, the first scene we shot.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15He knew that at the end of the scene there was a line he had to get right!
0:32:15 > 0:32:19It took a few times to settle down on that,
0:32:19 > 0:32:23and so Judy was going through those emotions quite a number of times
0:32:23 > 0:32:29and I was watching the monitor with my mouth open,
0:32:29 > 0:32:32just thinking, "How do you do that?"
0:32:33 > 0:32:37Honest to God, I never thought to see you in such a state!
0:32:37 > 0:32:40You must miss him dreadfully.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43You do not...
0:32:43 > 0:32:46He... CLOCK CHIMES
0:32:46 > 0:32:50Get him out! Get him out!
0:32:50 > 0:32:54Get him out! Get him out!
0:32:56 > 0:33:01I thought, "God, this isn't the actress I've been working with!"
0:33:01 > 0:33:04This was on another level.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08And she was phenomenal in it, I think.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Absolutely phenomenal in Mrs Brown.
0:33:11 > 0:33:16And with reason, her screen career took off after that.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20What she brought to the role of Queen Victoria
0:33:20 > 0:33:24was this quality of sensibility.
0:33:24 > 0:33:30There's something very emotionally articulate about Judi Dench.
0:33:30 > 0:33:36It's as if everything she says seems weighted with emotion,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39with a sense of something about to break through.
0:33:39 > 0:33:44She often sounds like she might be about to burst into tears or into laughter.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46It's hard to detect.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50I have noticed of late...
0:33:52 > 0:33:54..that my feelings of grief
0:34:00 > 0:34:02..are not so strong...
0:34:04 > 0:34:07..and I find myself leaning
0:34:07 > 0:34:13more on the comfort of living friends.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16This is why she's so good. She can show these moments,
0:34:16 > 0:34:20she can show somebody emerging from widowhood
0:34:20 > 0:34:23into a kind of girlishness,
0:34:23 > 0:34:27and do it without it seeming corny or cheap.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30There's a subtlety to everything she does.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34- Has someone seen to those bruises? - Yes, Ma'am.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37Ma'am...
0:34:39 > 0:34:43Having considered my position here in court,
0:34:43 > 0:34:48I have come to the conclusion that, in Your Majesty's best interests, I should resign.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50I do not accept.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54I had foreseen that you would not.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58But Your Majesty should understand...
0:34:59 > 0:35:02..that I will not be changed in this.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04- I leave for Deeside - - The Queen forbids it.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18I cannot allow it
0:35:18 > 0:35:21because I cannot live without you.
0:35:21 > 0:35:26She had had the most stunning career in televisual terms
0:35:26 > 0:35:29and certainly amazing in theatrical terms,
0:35:29 > 0:35:34and then it was quite late that the film world opened to her,
0:35:34 > 0:35:38which she has embraced and is glorious in.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42I mean, the big turn was Mrs Brown.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44The Americans in particular
0:35:44 > 0:35:49love it when the dignified, the classic British actors
0:35:49 > 0:35:52take on the role of a British royal.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54Dame Judi plays royal characters
0:35:54 > 0:35:58the way that we want the royals to be, not how they really were,
0:35:58 > 0:36:04but with great severity, vulnerability - just enough -
0:36:04 > 0:36:07but also she can be very scary.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10Within a year, Dame Judi was crowned again,
0:36:10 > 0:36:15playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare In Love, a very different monarch.
0:36:15 > 0:36:19We don't have royalty in America, so we have to take yours.
0:36:19 > 0:36:24We like very pushy British women. Americans love that.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28This stems from the fact that we think that British people are superior to us,
0:36:28 > 0:36:29but we would never say that.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31What do you love so much?
0:36:31 > 0:36:36- Your Majesty - Speak up, girl! I know who I am!
0:36:36 > 0:36:40the script is the thing that decides whether it's any good or not
0:36:40 > 0:36:42and this was obviously a corker.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46- That woman is a woman! - THEY GASP
0:36:46 > 0:36:50What? A woman? You mean that goat?!
0:36:50 > 0:36:52I'll see you all in Clink,
0:36:52 > 0:36:56in the name of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth!
0:36:56 > 0:36:59Mr Tilney! THEY GASP
0:37:04 > 0:37:07Have a care with my name. You will wear it out.
0:37:07 > 0:37:12Unless we absolutely messed it up, which of course we could've done, any of us,
0:37:12 > 0:37:14or John Madden or whatever,
0:37:14 > 0:37:18but that was a fabulous script, it was a joy to do
0:37:18 > 0:37:22and the job was to do it very well and that's it.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25It's a cross-dressing rom-com
0:37:25 > 0:37:30where only cold Queen Elizabeth can salvage Shakespeare's love life and career.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33They are not acted for you, they are acted for me.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Of course, she's played the great Shakespearean roles,
0:37:36 > 0:37:40that was the lifeblood of her career, really,
0:37:40 > 0:37:44and she has a capacity
0:37:44 > 0:37:49to display tremendous power and assurance
0:37:49 > 0:37:53from quite a small frame, erm,
0:37:53 > 0:37:57and I think that comes, strangely, quite naturally to her,
0:37:57 > 0:38:00even though she isn't remotely like that in person.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03She brings a sort of intellectualism
0:38:03 > 0:38:09and an emotional sophistication to the material that she works with,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11so that no matter what she's saying,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14there's a sense of a hinterland of some kind,
0:38:14 > 0:38:19of a history of the things going on at the back of this character's mind, as well.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23And that's something that comes, I think, from her.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27She's been plucked since I saw her last, and not by you.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29It takes a woman to know it.
0:38:29 > 0:38:34I think we could actually pinpoint a Judi Dench style,
0:38:34 > 0:38:39which is very refined, very classy, very dignified,
0:38:39 > 0:38:41but don't mess with her.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43I think that's what we love to see,
0:38:43 > 0:38:49because she is small, she is petite, she's not loud and brash.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53She is a very classy-looking lady.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56But we like to see her with some guts, as well.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00Come here, Master Kent. Let me look at you.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14Yes, the illusion is remarkable.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18And your error, Mr Tilney, is easily forgiven.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22But I know something of a woman in a man's profession.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24Yes, by God, I do know about that.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29Famously, she had, like, 12 minutes of screen time...
0:39:29 > 0:39:32Eight minutes, I think. I haven't totted them up.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34..but won the Supporting Actress Oscar
0:39:34 > 0:39:38because she makes such an impact in such a small amount of time.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41She comes into the movie, she bosses everyone about,
0:39:41 > 0:39:44she's tough, she makes a real impact,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47and you think you've been watching her for much longer than you were.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50There was a sense that
0:39:50 > 0:39:54a lot of people were so taken aback by her performance as Queen Victoria
0:39:54 > 0:40:00that they were surprised, in a way, that she didn't win for that.
0:40:00 > 0:40:05Shakespeare In Love came out the following year,
0:40:05 > 0:40:09and it was a Supporting Actress nomination,
0:40:09 > 0:40:12and she was playing another monarch,
0:40:12 > 0:40:16and I suppose, possibly, there was a sense that
0:40:16 > 0:40:20the Academy had suddenly become aware of this actress.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33Too late. Too late!
0:40:33 > 0:40:37Judi entered the 21st century as a worldwide film star.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39She's built M's part in the Bond films.
0:40:39 > 0:40:44But although Hollywood loves Judi Dench as a steely, hard woman in a man's world,
0:40:44 > 0:40:46she refuses to be typecast.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48Alongside the Hollywood blockbusters
0:40:48 > 0:40:52is Dame Judi of the low-budget film and TV series,
0:40:52 > 0:40:55in a huge variety of roles.
0:40:55 > 0:41:00She's had an extraordinary career. She's one of the few actors I know who's never been out of work.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04She literally has not been out of work. From the very beginning, she's worked all her life.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07I think the key to that is that,
0:41:07 > 0:41:12while she's not made many errors in her time,
0:41:12 > 0:41:16she's also chosen wisely in the sense that she's chosen stuff that,
0:41:16 > 0:41:19even if it seemed unlikely, it has worked triumphantly for her.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23From the leafy suburbs of south London,
0:41:23 > 0:41:28the Bombshell who made all this possible, Elizabeth on tenor sax!
0:41:28 > 0:41:30SHE PLAYS UPBEAT JAZZ
0:41:33 > 0:41:38Judi won a BAFTA for Best Actress in The Last of the Blonde Bombshells,
0:41:38 > 0:41:42the story of a woman reuniting a wartime swing band.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44I didn't know.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Do you remember that dance hall I told you about?
0:41:48 > 0:41:50- You Rascal You?- Mm.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53- Well, I played in the band. - Did women do that then?
0:41:53 > 0:41:57What do you know about the war, the 1939-45?
0:41:57 > 0:41:59We beat Germany one-nil?
0:41:59 > 0:42:02It was an upside-down world.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06Women drove ambulances and worked in ship yards and...
0:42:06 > 0:42:11..and I played in a band. We called ourselves The Blonde Bombshells.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14- Were you a star?- Well, we played on the wireless once.
0:42:14 > 0:42:15You were a star!
0:42:15 > 0:42:18Don't you remember?
0:42:18 > 0:42:21Metropole Ballroom, Moonlight Serenade,
0:42:21 > 0:42:26The Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy From Company B?
0:42:26 > 0:42:28- Patrick.- See, you do remember.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31The man we were all warned about.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34At least offer me the hand of friendship.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36I might never see it again. THEY LAUGH
0:42:38 > 0:42:41MAN PLAYS GENTLE MELODY
0:42:42 > 0:42:44If you're gonna do that, do it properly.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47I was just trying to catch the spirit of the moment.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49SHE PLAYS FAST-PACED JAZZ
0:42:51 > 0:42:55Just a year after Blonde Bombshells, she won the Best Actress BAFTA again
0:42:55 > 0:42:59for a film about novelist Iris Murdoch.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02Iris was a great performance. A tragic performance, as well,
0:43:02 > 0:43:05because we saw... well, it was a real person.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08We saw Judi portray her
0:43:08 > 0:43:12as someone who was once so intelligent, charismatic
0:43:12 > 0:43:14and just fading in front of our eyes.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16So a really tragic performance from her.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20HE GASPS
0:43:20 > 0:43:23- Where?- Between the soup and the baked beans.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25Thank you! Thank you so much!
0:43:25 > 0:43:27I caught her before she got to the checkout.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29She's been g-gone for hours.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32I thought I'd never see her again, n-never.
0:43:32 > 0:43:37She doesn't always have the joie de vivre that we associate with her.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40Sometimes she can play a character who's much more insular.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56She is an actress rather than a movie star,
0:43:56 > 0:43:59which means that she gets subsumed into the roles.
0:43:59 > 0:44:04So when she's in, let's say, Iris, she disappears into that role.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18W-Were you trying to get away from me?
0:44:18 > 0:44:22D-Did you want to leave me, Iris?
0:44:24 > 0:44:26Please?
0:44:26 > 0:44:28Judi plays Iris
0:44:28 > 0:44:32as she spirals into the despair of Alzheimer's disease.
0:44:35 > 0:44:39And Notes On A Scandal was an award-winning, international success.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43It's a psychological thriller where Judi plays a manipulative spinster
0:44:43 > 0:44:45besotted by Cate Blanchett.
0:44:49 > 0:44:51Let's go to the pub, OK?
0:44:54 > 0:44:57When... When will you tell them?
0:44:57 > 0:45:02I need to know the circumstances. You must inform me of everything.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04She's this kind of old harridan.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06It's not always about the regal aspect.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10Sometimes she can just be an old witch really.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13Please, I tried to end it, honestly! I just couldn't!
0:45:13 > 0:45:17I risked everything for you and in return, you humiliate me!
0:45:17 > 0:45:22I didn't mean to upset you, Barb, please! I need your help! Please don't go like this!
0:45:22 > 0:45:24You promised to end it. Why didn't you?
0:45:24 > 0:45:26- Because I -- What? You're in love?
0:45:26 > 0:45:30And the child? Do you imagine he reciprocates your soppy feelings?
0:45:30 > 0:45:33I dare say he's fascinated by the neurotic compulsions
0:45:33 > 0:45:36of a middle-class lady with marital problems!
0:45:36 > 0:45:39- Barb -- There's nothing crueller than the adolescent boy.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42Once he's had his fill, he'll discard you like a old rag.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45You're not young!
0:45:45 > 0:45:49I say this to help you. End it now.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53- Y-Y-Yes, yes. I'm thinking. - Don't think. Do.
0:45:53 > 0:45:58- Do, do, do, do! Or shall I just sit here doing my nails till your husband returns?- No, no!
0:45:58 > 0:46:01- I'll do it. - Well, what are you waiting for?
0:46:01 > 0:46:03I think she can be the national treasure.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07She can be the cosy Judi Dench, who's beautifully spoken
0:46:07 > 0:46:11and lovely to look at and all cosy and cuddly and lovely,
0:46:11 > 0:46:13and that's absolutely one side of her.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16We see it in something like Mrs Henderson Presents.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18It is most inconsiderate of Robert to die.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20What on earth am I supposed to do now?
0:46:20 > 0:46:23The first rule of widowhood, my dear,
0:46:23 > 0:46:27important conversations occur at lunch.
0:46:27 > 0:46:31It's really not so bad. Widows are allowed hobbies.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34- Hobbies?! - Yes. Embroidery, things like that.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37- Are you mad? - I've graduated to weaving.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41- Would you care to see my tapestries? - I'd rather drink ink!
0:46:48 > 0:46:51What on earth are you going to do with a theatre?
0:46:51 > 0:46:54Well, I thought music hall or...
0:46:54 > 0:46:57What do they call it in America? Vaudeville.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01Actually, I haven't thought about it! What am I going to do with it?
0:47:01 > 0:47:05- Clearly, you need someone to run it for you.- Oh, you think?
0:47:05 > 0:47:08Oh, I knew you'd give me sensible advice!
0:47:08 > 0:47:10But who?
0:47:10 > 0:47:14You're 20 minutes late. And you're rude.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19- Perhaps he's the wrong man. - Oh, I don't think so.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22All of these things seem very disparate,
0:47:22 > 0:47:27but I think there are notes that are there in those performances
0:47:27 > 0:47:30that those performances have in common,
0:47:30 > 0:47:36and I think it's to do with a sense of intelligence
0:47:36 > 0:47:40and a sense of something calculating, something going on.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43This is her great skill, I think,
0:47:43 > 0:47:48and it's a skill that enlivens and sophisticates material
0:47:48 > 0:47:50that sometimes doesn't deserve it.
0:47:52 > 0:47:57After 50 years in the business, a dame could be forgiven for taking things easy.
0:47:57 > 0:48:03For Judi Dench, comfortable territory is a pretty big place.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06A rich costume drama like Cranford, for instance.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11I suggest you open up a shop.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16- A shop?- In this dining parlour.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18CLOCK TICKS
0:48:18 > 0:48:19What kind of a shop?
0:48:19 > 0:48:22I would advise you sell some sort of commodity
0:48:22 > 0:48:25called-for on a daily basis.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29Tea would be ideal.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33I couldn't. I couldn't! To go into trade...
0:48:33 > 0:48:36I'm sure your friends will accept it and admire your common sense.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40Tea really is a very genteel form of trade, Miss Matty.
0:48:40 > 0:48:46- It is purchased by people of every class.- Including the most superior.
0:48:47 > 0:48:52At least it is not a sticky form of merchandise,
0:48:52 > 0:48:56for I could never bear to handle things that leave a residue.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04- Good morning, Mrs Johnson. - Good morning, Miss Jenkyns.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07Last time you were in, you were looking at the silks.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11I was. But today, I should like to confer with Mr Johnson.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13What is it regarding?
0:49:13 > 0:49:16SHE INHALES DEEPLY
0:49:16 > 0:49:17Tea!
0:49:17 > 0:49:22Cranford might seem the right and proper place for a mature actress,
0:49:22 > 0:49:25not taking risks with the unconventional.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27But that's not Dame Judi.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30It's hard to believe Matty Jenkyns is the same actress
0:49:30 > 0:49:35featuring in the world's first film launched on a mobile phone.
0:49:38 > 0:49:41Oh, have I shocked you? Good.
0:49:41 > 0:49:46Rage is an experimental film presented as a video web blog.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50It was released initially over seven days to mobiles,
0:49:50 > 0:49:53the same period covered in the story.
0:49:54 > 0:49:59For an unconventional film, it attracted a world-class cast.
0:49:59 > 0:50:03I phoned her up and sent her a script and said, "Do you fancy it?"
0:50:03 > 0:50:08We spoke on the phone and she said, "It's really scary but I'll do it!"
0:50:08 > 0:50:10That's basically it!
0:50:10 > 0:50:14At a certain point, she had to pull out of her handbag a reefer joint
0:50:14 > 0:50:20and smoke it whilst contemplating mortality, really.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23She wasn't over familiar with smoking joints,
0:50:23 > 0:50:27so we had to get in a young man to tutor her
0:50:27 > 0:50:30in how you hold it, with what fingers,
0:50:30 > 0:50:31how you breath in and so on,
0:50:31 > 0:50:37and this was a cause of enormous weeping levels of hilarity.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40She has an incredible sense of humour.
0:50:46 > 0:50:51They're most desperate, deluded individuals
0:50:51 > 0:50:53who all think they're doing something new.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55But nothing's new in this game.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58I think she was nervous
0:50:58 > 0:51:01about the idea of being so exposed,
0:51:01 > 0:51:06of working with a monologue without another actor to play off,
0:51:06 > 0:51:09because the actors never met each other on this film.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11They each worked for just two days
0:51:11 > 0:51:15and told the whole story through their monologues over that two-day shoot,
0:51:15 > 0:51:17and then I started with the next one.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19I shot the film with a hand-held,
0:51:19 > 0:51:22and so there was me and the soundman and the actor,
0:51:22 > 0:51:26three of us in a really tiny space, and that was how it worked.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30So you'd think, in a way, that was quite safe and containing,
0:51:30 > 0:51:34but in another way, it's a completely exposing situation for an actor.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37There is really nowhere to hide.
0:51:37 > 0:51:41Mona Carvell. Writer.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46Beauty attracts, my child. Beauty is power.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48Which is unfortunate
0:51:48 > 0:51:52because, in fact, it is surface, Michelangelo,
0:51:52 > 0:51:55surface through and through.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59And when the bloom of youth fades,
0:51:59 > 0:52:02only those graced with the right bones will survive.
0:52:02 > 0:52:07What you get with an actor like Judi Dench is more than the role that's written,
0:52:07 > 0:52:10more than the text, more than the part, more than the film.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14More than any one film that she's done, or play or sitcom.
0:52:14 > 0:52:19You're getting a total presence, which is an accumulation of all those things.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23Part of that presence is the uniqueness of her voice,
0:52:23 > 0:52:27which has quite an extraordinary depth and tambour to it,
0:52:27 > 0:52:31a look and an intelligence,
0:52:31 > 0:52:35an intelligence of approach that sort of glows, whatever she's doing.
0:52:35 > 0:52:40She's been a dame for more than 20 years and has a Hollywood Oscar.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42Surely it is time for Dame Judi Dench
0:52:42 > 0:52:45to pick up her pension and put up her feet.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48She's now an international star.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52She's reminiscent of Dame Edith Evans, who I remember interviewing
0:52:52 > 0:52:56and saying to her, "What was it about her that attracted audiences?"
0:52:56 > 0:52:59She said, "I don't know, but I know this,
0:52:59 > 0:53:03"when I walk on stage, I demand 'look at me, at nobody else'."
0:53:03 > 0:53:05In a sense, Judy's got something of that.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09Without being boastful or starry, she has that quality
0:53:09 > 0:53:12to walk onto a stage and attract attention immediately.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16You're drawn to her. And I don't think you can explain what it is.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19It's not looks, it's not size, height, whatever,
0:53:19 > 0:53:22it's something else much more powerful than that.
0:53:22 > 0:53:27And it's to do, I think, as much as anything else, with a kind of self-confidence.
0:53:27 > 0:53:31She surprises me, or rather I'm surprised by her range.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35Like, er, A Little Night Music,
0:53:35 > 0:53:39I mean, Send In The Clowns, I must've seen that three times.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42I've seen Glynis Johns do it, Jean Simmons.
0:53:42 > 0:53:44I never understood what the hell that song was about.
0:53:44 > 0:53:49"What do these lyrics mean? It's a rather turgid song" I always thought.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51Seeing Judi do it,
0:53:51 > 0:53:55the lyrics, the story, what that song is about for that character,
0:53:55 > 0:53:58it was absolutely crystal clear!
0:53:58 > 0:54:00And she's not a singer.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03But she can put over a song,
0:54:03 > 0:54:07and that sort of song, I think, in the most incredible way.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23# Isn't it rich?
0:54:25 > 0:54:28# Are we a pair?
0:54:30 > 0:54:34# Me here at last on the ground
0:54:34 > 0:54:38# You in mid-air
0:54:40 > 0:54:43# Send in the clowns
0:54:50 > 0:54:54# Isn't it bliss?
0:54:55 > 0:54:59# Don't you approve?
0:55:00 > 0:55:03# One who keeps tearing around
0:55:03 > 0:55:08# One who can't move
0:55:10 > 0:55:13# There ought to be clowns
0:55:14 > 0:55:17# Well...
0:55:17 > 0:55:19# Maybe
0:55:20 > 0:55:25# Next year... #
0:55:42 > 0:55:44APPLAUSE
0:55:50 > 0:55:54But there is no swansong for Dame Judi just yet.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57It's as if she's single-handedly set out to prove
0:55:57 > 0:56:02that there is life for actresses of a certain age.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04I think she just improves.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08If you can improve. How can you improve on perfection?
0:56:08 > 0:56:11Everything she does is so good anyway,
0:56:11 > 0:56:13and she throws herself into everything.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17I think it's wonderful for her that she gets the chance to do everything.
0:56:17 > 0:56:22It is so difficult when you get on in years to get the chance to do things,
0:56:22 > 0:56:25so she's flying the flag for all of us.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28You think, "Oh, yes, people can do it."
0:56:28 > 0:56:29She's got great tenacity,
0:56:29 > 0:56:32but also a wonderful, wonderful talent
0:56:32 > 0:56:35that is beyond beauty.
0:56:35 > 0:56:42So in a way, her talent is outside of her ageing.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46So many actresses rely on sexuality or their looks,
0:56:46 > 0:56:50and Dame Judi Dench never needed to do that and she never will.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53She doesn't believe she's beautiful at all, and yet she is.
0:56:53 > 0:56:59She once said to me, "I hate being called attractive. I hate looking at myself on TV."
0:56:59 > 0:57:00I said, "Why?"
0:57:00 > 0:57:05She said, "Because I imagine myself to be a six-foot blonde and beautiful and I'm not!"
0:57:05 > 0:57:11Well, she's somebody else. She's Judi Dench and she's precious.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19She is probably the most talented actress of her generation.
0:57:19 > 0:57:20ALL: Ma'am.
0:57:20 > 0:57:26Without doubt. I can't think of anybody who's in that league,
0:57:26 > 0:57:29who has that special kind of aura about her.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32Books... I wrote.
0:57:32 > 0:57:34SHE WAILS
0:57:34 > 0:57:39She is, quite boringly, everything that everyone says about her.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44It is an awesome talent when you are on stage with it.
0:57:44 > 0:57:46She's an extraordinary actress.
0:57:46 > 0:57:50She can turn from laughter to tears in seconds.
0:57:52 > 0:57:54An incredibly nice person
0:57:54 > 0:57:59who swears, tells dirty stories and gets on with everyone.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02What a cheap way of getting a laugh!
0:58:02 > 0:58:07You want to be in Judi's gang because they're always going to have the most fun.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11I kind of hate her for being what she is,
0:58:11 > 0:58:14but, er,
0:58:14 > 0:58:16I quite like her, too!
0:58:16 > 0:58:20Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:20 > 0:58:24E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk