Tearful Dame Judi Dench chokes up over late husband 23 years after his death-Robert Oliver-Entertainment – Metro

Dame Judi Dench made viewers at home choke up on Sunday night after paying a loving and emotional tribute to her late husband.

The esteemed actress and all-round national treasure suffered the death of her husband Michael Williams 23 years ago when he died of lung cancer aged just 65.

Dame Judi, 89, and Williams were married for 30 years, and the James Bond actress made sure to acknowledge that on her new show with The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades, 54.

And her tribute to Williams came via Channel 4’s The Odd Couple, which explores Dame Judi and Jay’s unlikely friendship that started a few years ago.

During an episode of the new series, the pair visited the house that the Shakespeare In Love star used to share with Williams in the 1970s and 1980s.

In the episode, she said to the cameras: ‘I want to take Jay to see my old home in the village of Charlecote, but having not been back since leaving in 1984 this isn’t going to be easy.’

Jay Blades comforted Dame Judi Dench as she remembered her late husband (Picture: Channel 4)

And it did prove to be difficult, with the sight of her former Midlands home bringing her to tears as she recalled the life she had with Williams, who died in 2001.

Admitting that it was a ‘strange feeling’ to return to Charlecote after so many years, she began to tear up as Jay comforted her during the emotional moment.

While sitting in Jay’s car, the two recognised the weight of the moment – Jay reached out and offered Dame Judi his hand as she confessed that returning to the house was ‘hard’.

Dame Judi married Williams in 1971 and they were together for 30 years (Picture: Central Press/Getty Images)

The couple had a daughter, Finty, who was born in 1972 (Picture: Fred Duval/FilmMagic)

Watching at home, Twitter user @MollTrot said, ‘Oh my god, my heart is breaking for Judi Dench,’ while @LittleWonder_UK commented: ‘This programme on Channel 4 is just wonderful. Feeling all warm and teary watching Jay Blades with Dame Judi Dench.’

The incident isn’t the first time and Jay has been there for the 89-year-old award-winning star of the screen, who married her late husband Williams back in 1971.

In an episode of The Repair Shop, Dame Judi featured as a special guest as the team got to work on fixing an old pocket watch that once belonged to the A Fine Romance actor.

Not only did the pocket watch once belong to him, but it was also a gift from Dame Judi to her new husband to mark their first year of being a married couple.

Before that Repair Shop episode, the Oscar winner teamed up with Jay for Comic Relief, where she had Jay repair an old china doll.

Dame Judi appeared on Jay’s Repair Shop in 2022 (Picture: PA)

She described the doll: ‘All my teddies have names and, of course, I’ve named this one. He’s called JB. After Jay Blades. He is really a remarkable man.’

After meeting Williams in the late 1960s, Dame Judi married him in 1971 and the couple had one child together, Tara Cressida Williams, now 51, who goes by Finty.

Nine years after Williams’ death, Dame Judi began a relationship with conservationist David Mills – the two appear to have a strong relationship but have revealed no plans to be married.

She has also been spending time away from the camera as she deals with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which causes gradual deterioration of eyesight – she hasn’t starred in a film since 2022.

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