Judi Dench Going Blind but Says She Won’t Retire

Oscar winner Judi Dench, 77, suffers from macular degeneration and says she can no longer read scripts. She’s filming the next Bond film “Skyfall” however, and says she wants to keep working

Oscar-winning actress Judi Dench has no plans to retire despite revealing she is losing her eyesight to a condition called macular degeneration.

The 77-year-old told the U.K.'s Daily Mirror that "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," she said.

Read more: James Bond "Skyfall" Plot Revealed: 007's Loyalty to M Tested"

She is currently filming the seventh Bond movie, "Skyfall", in London.

She said she now makes out faces only if the person stands right in front of her.

"The most distressing thing is in a restaurant in the evening I can't see the person I'm having dinner with," she said. "…I know there might be something going on but sometimes I can't see it and that infuriates me as I think I'm really missing out on something." 

She also needs an assistance when reading scripts in order to memorize her lines.

"I can't read scripts anymore because of the trouble with my eyes," Dench was quoted as saying. "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."

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