Judi Dench

Widely considered to be one of the greatest British actors ever to have lived, Judi Dench has delivered some of the most celebrated Shakespearean performances in the history of the RSC. Her performance as Lady Macbeth caused JC Trewin to write "it will astonish me if the performance is matched by any in this actress's generation" and audiences were stunned by her leading roles in Nunn’s musical version of 'The Comedy of Errors,' John Barton’s ‘British Raj’ version of 'Much Ado About Nothing' and Peter Hall’s televised version of 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream' in 1968. In 1999 she won an Oscar for her performance of Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998) despite the fact she only appeared on screen for six minutes in four scenes. Her many credits for the BBC include Cranford (BBC One), Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot (BBC One), Middlemarch (BBC Two) and Absolute Hell (BBC Two). She has won 10 BAFTAs and received 6 Oscar nominations for her celebrated film career which includes: Philomena (2013), Skyfall (2012), Jane Eyre (2011), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), My Week With Marilyn (2011), Nine (2009), Notes on a Scandal (2006), Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), Pride and Prejudice (2005), Iris (2001), Mrs Brown (1997) and Chocolat (2000).