Judi Dench recalls time she accidentally shouted ‘w***er!’ at a stranger

Judi Dench has reflected on some of her naughtiest moments – including the time she accidentally yelled “w***er” at a stranger.

The actor, while in conversation with broadcaster Gyles Brandreth at London’s Gielgud Theatre on Sunday night (27 November), said she thought it would be funny to shout at someone she had mistakenly identified as her friend, the impressionist Alistair McGowan, only to realise afterwards that it wasn’t him.

“I was driving along and saw who I thought was Alistair McGowan and I shouted ‘w***er’… and it was a total stranger,” she said.

The 87-year-old star added that the sight condition she suffers from – macular degeneration – has got her into trouble numerous times over the years.

In another awkward mishap, Dench said she was once on stage and thought she saw theatre director Howard Davies in the audience.

“So I got a piece of paper and folded it up and wrote on it, ‘I suppose a shag is out of the question?’” Dench recalled.

“I dropped the note and looked up and played the scene and I glanced back… and it was also a complete stranger.”

Dench was recently a guest on an especially lively episode of Louis Theroux Interviews...

In her chat with the documentarian, Dench talked about how filmmaker Clint Eastwood is the “most laidback” man she’s ever met, and jokingly chastised Theroux over one cheeky question.