One of Dame Judi Dench’s most famous on screen roles is undoubtedly that of M in the James Bond franchise, a character the legendary actor played in a total of eight films.
In two of those 007 movies, Dame Judi co-starred alongside Ben Wishaw’s quartermaster, Q – and the Oscar winner has revealed that the pair recently became closer than one might think.
Appearing on Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 Show, she disclosed that she accidentally made a naked FaceTime call to Ben, when her daughter Finty suggested she should call a friend of his for his birthday.
“I can’t see at all, so my phone is an anathema to me, I don’t know what all those buttons are for,” Dame Judi began.
“Anyway, Fint rang me one morning and said, ‘It’s Chris Logan’s birthday and he’s having a walk with Ben Whishaw in Regent’s Park, please wish him a happy birthday’,’ she continued.
“And then I went upstairs, got into my bath and I thought: ‘I must send Chris Logan a happy birthday message.’ So I picked up my phone and I said: ‘Chris, happy, happy…’, and I just saw these two people turn and [pull a shocked face].’”
You see, she’d apparently only meant to make a standard phone call, rather than a live video chat – complete with visuals and one naked acting legend.
“It was FaceTiming them… I don’t know about FaceTime. Poor Chris… happy birthday!” she joked, with host Zoe adding: “You can’t top that though!”
Dame Judi has been open about her struggles to do with her eyesight in recent months, previously revealing that she “can’t see on a film set” anymore.
The 88-year-old was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that can blur your central vision as you age, over a decade ago.
“And I can’t see to read. So I can’t see much,” she said at the time. “But you know you just deal with it. Get on. It’s difficult for me if I have any length of a part. I haven’t yet found a way.”