Judi Dench’s home is exactly what one would imagine it to be. A haven in the heart of east Surrey, where the 90-year-old actor has lived for more than 40 years, it’s where she and her late husband, the actor Michael Williams, brought up their daughter Finty. The farmhouse, with its ancient 14th-century bones, is as warm and enveloping as its owner. Deep sofas and a large inglenook fire are the first things you see when you enter via an old wooden door. “Mind your head!” she’s always crying out. Visitors wipe their feet on a 007 doormat that reads “I’ve been expecting you, Mr Bond” – a gift from her grandson Sammie (she played the role of M a total of eight times).
The house is filled with her history: a doctor’s office chair comes from her father’s surgery in York, where she grew up. There are photos and mementoes, an impressive collection of cuddly toys, and her colossal array of Baftas, Oliviers, Golden Globes and Tonys. The Oscar that she won for her eight-minute turn in Shakespeare In Love is also on the shelf. Chairs are covered in painstakingly precise tapestries, many of which she embroidered waiting on film sets or backstage. And then, in the drawing room, stands a six-foot stuffed dinosaur wearing a tall Santa hat. “Isn’t he marvellous?” she gushes. “I gave him to my grandson Sammie for Christmas. I ask how old Sam is. “Twenty-seven!” she replies – that unique voice still vibrant and always gusty with laughter.
