Judi Dench was surprised by her idol Mick Jagger while on-stage on Sunday, after admitting it was her ‘dream’ to meet the music legend.
The Oscar winner, 91, had joined her pal Gyles Brandreth at London’s Sondheim Theatre to reflect on her incredible career, and was given the ultimate surprise by the broadcaster during the show.
Gyles shared a string of Instagram snaps that showed the sweet moment Mick, 82, made his way on stage to surprise Judi.
The pair then posed for snaps backstage with fellow guests Dominic West and Jim Broadbent, with Gyles telling his followers his appearance was a ‘total surprise,’ and only he was aware ahead of the show.
In a series of captions, he wrote: ‘Oh my! I’ve been working in the theatre for nearly 60 years & I’ve never known a moment quite like it.
‘As a surprise, I invited Sir Mick Jagger onto the stage at the end of our show. Dame Judi Dench told me it was her dream to meet him. He was amazing: she was overwhelmed. Yesss!;
‘Dame Judi wore her Rock & Roll t-shirt without knowing that I’d lined up Sir Mick Jagger as our special guest today.
‘She once told me it was a dream of hers to share a stage with Mick Jagger. They had never met. He kindly made her dream come true! (Cast snap from dressing room);
‘What a night! Dame Judi had no idea when she dressed for our show today that she’d be sharing the stage with Sir Mick Jagger tonight! They had never met, but she once told me it was her dream to be on stage with him – so I asked him to join us and, bless him, he said Yes!;
‘Together at last … from Laurence Olivier to Johnny Depp, she’s worked with them all. But she told me once her dream was to share a stage with Mick Jagger. Sometimes dreams come true.
‘His appearance was a total surprise. I told only one person at the theatre that he was coming.’
Judi, who turned 91 last week, has previously shared fears she will ‘lose the plot’ as her eyesight continues to deteriorate.
The legendary actress spoke frankly about her health and her former friendship with disgraced American producer Harvey Weinstein in a wide-ranging interview with the Radio Times.
Judi admitted she can no longer see the television and has to rely upon her team of assistants to help her with day-to-day tasks.
Gyles shared a string of Instagram snaps that showed the sweet moment Mick, 82, made his way on stage to surprise Judi
Snaps from the show featured Dominic presenting Judi with a belated birthday cake, after she turned 91 last week
The screen star was diagnosed with Age-related Macular Degeneration in 2012, which can cause permanent and rapid central vision loss, and is the number one cause of vision loss in people over 50.
‘It’s a crusher’, said Judi, after revealing both her eyes are beyond treatment as they are in the progressed ‘wet’ stage of AMD.
‘I miss seeing Clive Myrie doing Mastermind, but I can hear the questions’, Dame Judi added, when asked about what she missed.
The actress had to give up driving, embroidery and even going out alone.
Despite these challenges, Judi continues to work by having friends and colleagues read her scripts aloud, which she then learns using her photographic memory.
And the actress admitted while she can reel off reems of Shakespeare’s soliloquys, she ‘can’t remember what I’m doing tomorrow, I swear to you’. When asked if she fears she will ‘lose the plot’, she answered: ‘Oh yes.’
Dame Judi then asked the interviewer to consult her assistants, who confirmed they help run her life.
Elsewhere in the interview, Dame Judi touched upon working with Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey in Hollywood.
The actress remains friends with Kevin, 66, who was cleared of sexual assault allegations against four men during a UK trial in 2023.
‘Kevin has been exonerated and I hear from Kevin, we text’, she said.
The pair worked together in films like The Shipping News, with the actress defending her ‘good friend’ in 2018, just months after the actor was hit with the allegations.
