Dame Judi Dench revealed her very special, secret tribute to her longtime friend, the late Dame Maggie Smith.
The actress shared a poignant tribute to her close friend and fellow acting legend Dame Maggie Smith, who passed away in September at the age of 89.
As part of a deeply personal tradition, Dame Judi plants trees in memory of friends who have died. Remarkably, on the day of Dame Maggie’s funeral, a sapling planted in her honor bore its first fruit.
“Joe, who works for me, came in and he had one little crab apple,” Dame Judi told the BBC.
“And so I had it in my pocket at her funeral, which was a very nice thing to have.” She shared the touching story in an interview recorded for *Maggie Smith at the BBC*, a special tribute set to air on December 28.
The two iconic actresses first met in 1957 in a dressing room at The Old Vic theatre, sparking a friendship that spanned decades.
They collaborated on numerous projects, including A Room With A View (1985), Ladies in Lavender (2004), and the critically acclaimed Best Exotic Marigold Hotel films (2011 and 2015).
Actor and director Charles Dance, a mutual friend, reflected on his time working with the pair in Ladies in Lavender.
In a separate BBC program, Lives Well Lived, also airing December 28, Dance recalled the magic they brought to the set.
“I had Judi Dench and Maggie Smith — I could have shot the telephone directory with those two,” he said.
Sharing a fond memory, Dance recounted an ad-libbed moment of humor between the friends: “They’re running up the stairs together, there’s Judi trying to get up there before Maggie, and Maggie saying, ‘Stop pushing me, stop pushing me!’ It was wonderful.”