Judi Dench fights back tears in heartbreaking moment during ‘enchanting’ Louis Theroux interview
DAME Judi Dench fought back tears tonight during what fans have dubbed an “utterly enchanting” interview with Louis Theroux.
The Oscar winning actress became emotional while talking about her late husband Michael Williams, who died in 2001.
They were watching an advert for spreads which they starred in together, when Judi said: “Thank you, Clover butter.”
Louis asked: “Are you OK talking about how it came to an end, how he came to die?”
Judi replied: “Well he wasn’t well… I’m not good at it, actually,” before a long pause.
She added: “Yes, he died in 2001 of lung cancer. Smoking you see, all that smoking when we were young.
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“I was in New York and they said he was not well. My agent flew out and we came back on Concorde the next day and it aborted take-off.
“We got off and we went back and said: ‘Oh, it’ll be alright.’ We got on another plane and the same thing happened. It was a long old time to get back.
“We got back here and we were all in the house together and that was very, very good indeed.”
The programme was widely praised on social media, with one viewer writing: “Gorgeous interview with @louistheroux & Judi Dench. Utterly enchanting.”
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Another wrote: “This Judi Dench/ Louis Theroux prog is wonderful.”
A third tweeted: “This Louis Theroux interview with Judi Dench is so wonderful and heartfelt.”
In 1971, Michael met and married Judi after meeting as co-stars in a stage production of John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi.
He tragically passed away on January 11, 2001, after losing his battle with lung cancer.
Just one day before, on January 10, Michael was appointed as a Knight of St Gregory by Pope John Paul II in recognition of his work for the Catholic church.