She's a respected national treasure – but Dame Judi Dench admits she has a penchant for swearing.
The 85-year-old potty mouth says she loves literary legend William Shakespeare because of his use of expletives.
She said: “Shakespeare is my passion – ever since I was a really small girl. I was about seven, I think, and I was taken to see my brothers in Macbeth at their school in York.
“My eldest brother was playing Duncan and he came on and said, ‘What bloody man is that?’
“In one instance I thought, ‘Not only Shakespeare, but swearing as well. This is for me’.”
Judi said in a talk with Royal Shakespeare Company members earlier this month: “I am rather liberal with swear words. I don’t have a favourite. I use them all too many times.”
In 2009, it emerged that Judi’s swearing in James Bond movie Quantum of Solace had upset viewers. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) revealed in its annual report that a small number of viewers had complained about her foul mouth in her role as M.
The board said: “Almost every time Dame Judi swears in a film, regardless of its category, we can expect a number of complaints.”
Quantum of Solace attracted only six complaints, with four attributable to Judi.
Despite the backlash, Judi insisted she got through showbiz by staying young inside.
She said: “If your inside is 35, I reckon you can get through. You can go on fooling yourself all your life. You never know what your next job is so that is why I never turn anything down.”
Judi has a become a permanent fixture on the stage for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
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