{"id":2917,"date":"2025-11-30T04:05:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T07:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bnnweb.com\/?p=2917"},"modified":"2025-11-30T04:05:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T07:35:07","slug":"judi-dench-shares-struggles-with-severe-vision-loss-says-she-can-no-longer-watch-tv-or-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917","title":{"rendered":"Judi Dench Shares Struggles With Severe Vision Loss, Says She Can No Longer Watch TV or Read"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI can\u2019t see the television, I can\u2019t see to read,\u201d Dench admitted, responding with humor when McKellen teased her about greeting strangers she might mistake for acquaintances.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Washington, DC, November 30, 2025, BNN Web Staff \u2014 Renowned actress Judi Dench has opened up about the worsening effects of age-related macular degeneration, a condition that has significantly impaired her vision and pushed her to step away from performing, Deadline reported.<\/p>\n

Dench \u2014 whose illustrious seven-decade career spans film, theatre, and television \u2014 has earned some of the industry’s highest honors, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, multiple BAFTAs, Golden Globes, and seven Olivier Awards.<\/p>\n

In a recent conversation with ITV News, conducted alongside longtime friend and collaborator Ian McKellen, Dench candidly acknowledged the extent of her vision loss. \u201cNo, you don\u2019t see me on camera, because I can\u2019t see anymore,\u201d she said. She added that while she can detect familiar outlines, she can no longer recognize faces clearly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t see the television, I can\u2019t see to read,\u201d Dench admitted, responding with humor when McKellen teased her about greeting strangers she might mistake for acquaintances.<\/p>\n

The celebrated actress, known for standout roles in Shakespeare in Love, Notes on a Scandal, and her iconic portrayal of M in the James Bond franchise, first revealed her diagnosis in 2012. Age-related macular degeneration affects the retina\u2019s central region, leading to blurred or lost central vision.<\/p>\n

Dench has hinted at retirement over the past two years, noting that memorizing lengthy roles has become increasingly challenging despite help from friends. Her most recent on-screen appearance was a cameo in Spirited, a 2022 Apple TV+ musical comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI can\u2019t see the television, I can\u2019t see to read,\u201d Dench admitted, responding with humor when McKellen teased her about<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1557,229],"tags":[2818,2819,2820,2821,2822,2823,110,2824,2825,2826,2827,2828,2829,2830,2757,2831,2832,2833],"class_list":["post-2917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-others","category-world-news","tag-age-related-macular-degeneration","tag-british-actress","tag-deadline","tag-entertainment-news","tag-eyesight-loss","tag-film-industry","tag-health","tag-hollywood","tag-ian-mckellen","tag-itv-news","tag-james-bond","tag-judi-dench","tag-macular-degeneration","tag-retirement","tag-shakespeare-in-love","tag-spirited","tag-theatre","tag-vision-impairment"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"colormag-highlighted-post":false,"colormag-featured-post-medium":false,"colormag-featured-post-small":false,"colormag-featured-image":false,"colormag-default-news":false,"colormag-featured-image-large":false},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18e12f979c7dbcc2096868fc531de295a11443c392b4bb6e60ce343131707eaa?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":false,"magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"\u201cI can\u2019t see the television, I can\u2019t see to read,\u201d Dench admitted, responding with humor when McKellen teased her about","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["Others","World News"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":2,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":false,"medium":false,"thumbnail":false},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?author=3"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18e12f979c7dbcc2096868fc531de295a11443c392b4bb6e60ce343131707eaa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"Others<\/a> World News<\/a>","videoUrl":"","yoast_head":"\nJudi Dench Shares Struggles With Severe Vision Loss, Says She Can No Longer Watch TV or Read - MediaPBN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Judi Dench Shares Struggles With Severe Vision Loss, Says She Can No Longer Watch TV or Read - MediaPBN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cI can\u2019t see the television, I can\u2019t see to read,\u201d Dench admitted, responding with humor when McKellen teased her about\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MediaPBN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-30T07:35:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?p=2917#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?p=2917\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/464eb007d7be023435a8fb81210c7356\"},\"headline\":\"Judi Dench Shares Struggles With Severe Vision Loss, Says She Can No Longer Watch TV or Read\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-30T07:35:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?p=2917\"},\"wordCount\":295,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?p=2917#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"keywords\":[\"age-related macular degeneration\",\"British actress\",\"Deadline\",\"entertainment news\",\"eyesight loss\",\"film industry\",\"Health\",\"Hollywood\",\"Ian McKellen\",\"ITV News\",\"James Bond\",\"Judi Dench\",\"macular degeneration\",\"retirement\",\"Shakespeare in Love\",\"Spirited\",\"theatre\",\"vision impairment\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Others\",\"World News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?p=2917\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?p=2917\",\"name\":\"Judi Dench Shares Struggles With Severe Vision Loss, Says She Can No Longer Watch TV or Read - MediaPBN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?p=2917#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?p=2917#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-30T07:35:07+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?p=2917#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?p=2917\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?p=2917#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?p=2917#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Judi Dench Shares Struggles With Severe Vision Loss, Says She Can No Longer Watch TV or Read\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"MediaPBN\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MediaPBN\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/04\\\/cropped-cropped-mediapbnlogo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/04\\\/cropped-cropped-mediapbnlogo.png\",\"width\":184,\"height\":110,\"caption\":\"MediaPBN\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/464eb007d7be023435a8fb81210c7356\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18e12f979c7dbcc2096868fc531de295a11443c392b4bb6e60ce343131707eaa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18e12f979c7dbcc2096868fc531de295a11443c392b4bb6e60ce343131707eaa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18e12f979c7dbcc2096868fc531de295a11443c392b4bb6e60ce343131707eaa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mediapbn.com\\\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Judi Dench Shares Struggles With Severe Vision Loss, Says She Can No Longer Watch TV or Read - MediaPBN","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Judi Dench Shares Struggles With Severe Vision Loss, Says She Can No Longer Watch TV or Read - MediaPBN","og_description":"\u201cI can\u2019t see the television, I can\u2019t see to read,\u201d Dench admitted, responding with humor when McKellen teased her about","og_url":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917","og_site_name":"MediaPBN","article_published_time":"2025-11-30T07:35:07+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/#\/schema\/person\/464eb007d7be023435a8fb81210c7356"},"headline":"Judi Dench Shares Struggles With Severe Vision Loss, Says She Can No Longer Watch TV or Read","datePublished":"2025-11-30T07:35:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917"},"wordCount":295,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","keywords":["age-related macular degeneration","British actress","Deadline","entertainment news","eyesight loss","film industry","Health","Hollywood","Ian McKellen","ITV News","James Bond","Judi Dench","macular degeneration","retirement","Shakespeare in Love","Spirited","theatre","vision impairment"],"articleSection":["Others","World News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917","url":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917","name":"Judi Dench Shares Struggles With Severe Vision Loss, Says She Can No Longer Watch TV or Read - MediaPBN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2025-11-30T07:35:07+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?p=2917#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Judi Dench Shares Struggles With Severe Vision Loss, Says She Can No Longer Watch TV or Read"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/","name":"MediaPBN","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/#organization","name":"MediaPBN","url":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cropped-cropped-mediapbnlogo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cropped-cropped-mediapbnlogo.png","width":184,"height":110,"caption":"MediaPBN"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/#\/schema\/person\/464eb007d7be023435a8fb81210c7356","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18e12f979c7dbcc2096868fc531de295a11443c392b4bb6e60ce343131707eaa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18e12f979c7dbcc2096868fc531de295a11443c392b4bb6e60ce343131707eaa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18e12f979c7dbcc2096868fc531de295a11443c392b4bb6e60ce343131707eaa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/?author=3"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2917\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediapbn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}