Dame Judi’s sad news

The Daily Mirror reported over the weekend that Dame Judi Dench might be going blind:

The James Bond Star, 77, has been diagnosed with macular degeneration which can lead to blindness.

In a deeply moving interview, Dame Judi said her sight is already so bad she cannot see faces in front of her and friends have to read scripts to her so she can learn her lines.

But she said she is determined not to let the condition beat her and hopes recent treatment has stopped the progressive decline.

She confessed: “I can’t read scripts any more because of the trouble with my eyes.

"And so somebody comes in and reads them to me, like telling me a story.

"It’s usually my daughter or my agent or a friend and actually I like that, because I sit there and imagine the story in my mind.

“I’ve got what my ma had, macular degeneration, which you get when you get old.”

[…] And she has no plans to retire. She said: “As long as there is a possibility of working I’m not going to retire because if I retire nothing will work any more and it’s hard enough as it is.

“I’m very conscious that I’m in the minority in that I love what I do. How big is the number of people who are running to work to do a job that they like? And how lucky to be employed at it – how incredibly lucky.”

Very sad news.  I hate the thought of Ms. Dench not being able to dazzle the silver screen with her amazing performances any longer.

However, the Washington Post reports she apparently clarified that her statements were overblown, and added this today:

“In response to the numerous articles in the media concerning my eye condition — macular degeneration — I do not wish for this to be overblown,” Dench said in a statement to Reuters. “This condition is something that thousands and thousands of people all over the world are having to contend with. It's something that I have learnt to cope with and adapt to — and it will not lead to blindness.”

Let’s hope.