Dame Judi Dench has revealed she can no longer act on stage or in films or even read a book due to an eye condition she has been battling for over a decade.
The Oscar-winning actress, 91, was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012 - while she was still starring in major roles.
The common condition damages the small part of the retina responsible for straight-ahead vision, leaving sufferers struggling to see clearly or recognise faces.
Dame Judi's last film cameos came in 2022, but she has graced the small screen several times since - including this year's Tea With Judi Dench with Kenneth Branagh.
She told BBC's Today programme about the struggles of AMD, saying: 'I can't be on stage. I can't do a play anymore. I can't do a film anymore. I can't read anymore.'
On ageing, the legend of screen and stage - who won an Academy Award in 1999 - added: 'There's nothing to say for it at all. [I] don't think about it too much.'
Everyday encounters are also becoming more tricky for Dame Judi who struggles to recognise people, occasionally giving the wrong person an 'almost hug' by accident.
She has long been keen to adapt to life with deteriorating vision - which has made film sets a tough workplace - adding that the radio is 'important' to her.
Dame Judi Dench pictured in 2017. The legendary actress has revealed she can no longer act on stage or in films or even read a book due to an eye condition
The star pictured playing M in Skyfall in 2012. She was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) the same year
But she has also been drawing on AI to learn scripts, with the Mail revealing in May that she uses £300 RayBan Meta glasses which convert text to speech.
The glasses - suggested to Dame Judi by vision loss charity Sight for Surrey, of which she is the patron - discreetly play an audio feed only heard by her.
The actress has been keeping busy writing and promoting her new memoir, Is It Too Late To Make A Run For It, which reflects on her remarkable career in showbusiness.
During the book's promotional run, she will be making a return to the stage, hosting a series of evenings with close friend and writing partner Brendan O'Hea.
The actress - who earned an astonishing 27 Bafta award nominations during a stellar career - has long been outspoken, and this month lashed out at the 2019 movie Cats.
Dame Judi portrayed Old Deuteronomy in the film, which was based on the 1981 musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and featured a star-studded cast including James Corden, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba and Jennifer Hudson.
The film was derided by critics and flopped at the box office, grossing just $76million (£61million) on a budget of $100million (£80million).
Dame Judi called the movie a complete catastrophe and even admitted to having never seen the finished version.
Writing in her memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run For It?, she wrote: 'Oh God, I can't bear it - and [Lloyd Webber] had waited so long for it to be made.
'What a waste of all that goodwill and talent. I understand the critics were rather hostile to the film. I never saw the final cut so I can't judge.'
The star - who achieved international fame for her role as M in the James Bond films - said this month she believes trigger warnings have 'gone too far' and have started to 'mollycoddle' audiences.
In an extract of her memoir published by The Times magazine, Dame Judi said: 'I think they have gone too far. It's mollycoddling. If you're that sensitive, don't go to the theatre.
On ageing, the legend of screen and stage added: 'There's nothing to say for it at all' (Pictured: Dame Judi in Court Martial TV series in 1965)
'By all means keep the warnings about strobe lighting and gunshots, and obviously there should be age limits for children, but that's about it.
'Otherwise, where will it end? The trigger warnings before Titus Andronicus would be longer than the play.
'And if you overdo the warnings, doesn't it take away from the audience's enjoyment of the story?
'Do you tell them that the butler did it in an Agatha Christie play so as not to shock them?
'Besides, in the safety of a theatre or cinema, I want to be triggered, excited, stimulated, provoked and disturbed, to be taken out of my comfort zone. Isn't that what makes theatre and films so thrilling?'
The Skyfall actress questioned just where trigger warnings should stop.
She added: 'And who knows what might trigger people? Balloons, clowns, buttons … I have a friend who doesn't like bananas.
'She feels physically sick every time she sees one. Should supermarkets put up warning signs in the fruit and veg aisle? It drives me wild.'