PRESS ASSOCIATION -- Dame Judi Dench has vowed never to retire from acting, saying her career on stage and screen is "like everlasting school".
The Oscar-winning actress told Good Housekeeping that she enjoyed the "whole discipline of learning".
She said: "It's a learning curve all of the time. I think that's very, very good for you and very important; it's like everlasting school, in a way."
Dame Judi said she hated being called "a national treasure", adding: "A national treasure is something that never changes and is sitting there behind glass."
The actress, who co-owns a racehorse with her driver, admitted she could not "resist having a flutter".
She said: "He's driven me for so many years and his passion is racing so I thought 'Well, why not have a horse together?'. It won the Lincoln, the Brigadier Gerard and the other day he won over the hurdles for the first time. I don't often get to the races but I go and visit him in Newmarket. I love it."
The York-born star won an Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in the film Shakespeare In Love.
:: Read the full interview in the latest issue of Good Housekeeping.