Overview
- Speaking at the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds, the double Oscar winner said, “I can’t see any more,” citing advanced age-related macular degeneration.
- Dench said she can no longer see performances in the theatre or follow television, noting she tracked The Celebrity Traitors only because a friend described events.
- Age-related macular degeneration causes central vision loss and is the leading cause of sight loss in people over 50.
- She urged the public to support Alzheimer’s Research UK, which reports nearly one million people in the UK live with dementia and about a third remain undiagnosed, with some facing waits of up to a year after referral.
- The actress has adapted her work by learning lines through friends repeating them and has said she now needs someone with her because poor eyesight makes her prone to walking into things or falling.