Dame Judi Dench, 89, gives devastating hint that 70-year-long film career is over-Danni Scott-Entertainment – Metro

Dame Judi Dench has hinted that she may not be acting again (Picture: EPA)

Dame Judi Dench has been stepping away from the acting world for some time now but she appears to have confirmed her on-screen career is over.

The James Bond icon has not starred in anything for the past two years and does not seem to be returning to the screen any time soon.

In the most casual way possible, Dame Judi, 89, addressed speculation that she may be hanging up her acting hat after nearly 70 years in the industry.

While at the Chelsea Flower Show, a journalist asked if the star had any movies on the horizon to which Dame Judi replied: ‘No, no, I can’t even see!’

When approached for clarity on her comments, her agent said: ‘Judi has nothing more to add than all she mentioned to the journalist.’

The Philomena star has age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which she revealed in 2012, which causes gradual deterioration of eyesight.

She told a journalist her eyesight was so bad now she ‘can’t even see’ (Picture: Reuters)

The star last appeared on screen in 2022 after saying she didn’t want to retire (Picture: Anthony Harvey/REX/Shutterstock)

While AMD does not usually cause total blindness, it can make daily activities hard and Dame Judi previously shared she ‘can’t see on a film set’ anymore.

‘I can’t see to read. But you just deal with it,’ she added to the Sunday Mirror magazine Notebook last July.

‘It’s difficult if I have any length of a part. I haven’t yet found a way. Because I have so many friends who will teach me the script. But I have a photographic memory.’

However, during a chat with Louis Theroux in 2022, the Shakespeare in Love star insisted that she was not ready to retire just yet.

‘I don’t want to retire,’ Dame Judi explained. ‘I’m not doing much at the moment because I can’t see. It’s bad.

‘I have a photographic memory so a person saying to me, ”This is your line…” I can do that .’

One of her most iconic roles was as M in the James Bond franchise (Picture: Col Pics/Everett/REX/Shutterstock)

She made her acting debut as Ophelia in Hamlet in 1957 (Picture: Bob Haswell/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Around the same time she revealed her partner David Mills has to cut up her food when out at a restaurant as she cannot see her plate.

AMD usually begins between the ages of 50 and 60, impacting the ‘middle part of your vision’ according to the NHS.

Despite her exit from the silver screen, Dame Judi insisted to the famed flower show that she was still booked and busy off-screen.

She said: ‘Our book has come out (Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent), we’re going to Cheltenham Book Fair and then I’m going to do three shows with Gyles Brandreth.’

During the event, the keen gardener was presented with a seedling from the felled Sycamore Gap tree which she sore to name ‘Antoninus’.

Wiping away a tear at the gift, she added that this was the name of ‘the adopted son of the Emperor Hadrian.’

Dame Judi was honoured at the Chelsea Flower Show by receiving a seedling from the Sycamore Gap Tree (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

The national treasure is set to make history despite pausing her acting after smashing the glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to join an exclusive private members’ club of actors and artists.

For the first time in its 193-year history, the exclusive and elusive Garrick Club will open its doors to women — and of course Dame Judi makes the cut.

The icon has been working as a professional actress since 1957, performing on stage for the Old Vic theatre company.

She rose to fame as a Shakespearian actress, appearing as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, and as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth before taking on Hollywood.

Over the years, Dame Judi has won an Oscar, a Tony, two Golden Globes, four Bafta TV awards, six Bafta film awards, and seven Olivier Awards.

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