Dame Judi Dench has held back tears as she opened up about the grief of losing her husband in an intimate new television documentary.
The 91-year-old Oscar winner shared deeply personal reflections alongside her longtime friend Sir Kenneth Branagh in Tea with Judi, which aired on Sky Arts on Tuesday evening.
The one-off special saw Ms Dench welcome Mr Branagh into her Surrey countryside home, where the pair discussed her extraordinary career, enduring friendships and the profound loss of her late husband, actor Michael Williams.
Blending rarely seen archive footage with candid conversation, the programme offered an unusually revealing glimpse into Ms Dench’s private world, with grief emerging as one of its central themes.
One of the most emotional moments came when Mr Branagh drew attention to a painted portrait of Mr Williams, describing it as “a fantastic likeness of the brilliant Mr Michael Williams”.
Visibly moved, Ms Dench responded: “Michael and I were married just short of 30 years when he died in 2001.
“Look at that, Kenneth. I mean, you knew him. That’s so, it’s brilliantly painted. I love it, I really love it.”
Mr Williams, best known for voicing Dr Watson in BBC radio adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, died of lung cancer aged 65 at the couple’s home, surrounded by loved ones.
The pair married in 1971 and remained together until his death, just three weeks before their pearl wedding anniversary.
Judi Dench with her husband, actor Michael Williams (1935 – 2001) and their baby daughter Finty Williams
|
GETTY
The British actor and filmmaker added: “He had that incredible movie-star jaw and those piercing eyes. He was a handsome lad, wasn’t he?”
A tearful Ms Dench quietly replied: “He was.”
The documentary also features a poignant tribute to Ms Dench’s close friend Dame Maggie Smith, who died in September 2024, aged 89.
Walking through her garden, Ms Dench showed Mr Branagh a small woodland where trees are dedicated to friends and family members who have died.
The 89-year-old actress has had a glittering career | Getty
“Michael and I bought this house and together with our daughter Finty we decided to dedicate trees in the garden to our friends who are no longer with us,” she explained.
Stopping beside a crab apple tree bearing Mr Smith’s name, Ms Dench said: “That is Mag’s tree. Crab apple!”
She revealed the tree had been bare until Ms Smith’s memorial.
“Well, it had nothing on it until the day of her memorial, her kind of funeral, and it had one and I put it in my pocket,” she recalled.
Noting its position near the front door, Mr Branagh observed: “She can see everybody coming and going.”
“She’s watching!” Ms Dench replied.
The programme comes amid ongoing health challenges for Ms Dench, who lives with age-related macular degeneration affecting both eyes.
Diagnosed in 2012, the condition has progressed to an untreatable stage, leaving her unable to see faces clearly.
“It’s a crusher,” she has said, explaining the illness forced her to give up driving, embroidery and watching television.
Dame Judi Dench paid tribute to her late friend, Maggie Smith
|
ITV“I miss seeing Clive Myrie doing Mastermind, but I can hear the questions.”
Ms Dench has also spoken candidly about fears of cognitive decline, admitting she worries about “losing the plot” despite still being able to recite lengthy passages of Shakespeare.
“I can’t remember what I’m doing tomorrow, I swear to you,” she says, adding that she continues to work by having scripts read aloud and relying on her memory.