Frank appraisal of ‘sour faced’ Dame Judi

TV and radio host not Miss D-eyed about ‘pinched face’ star

She’s a dame of the British Empire, a hugely popular actress and York’s person of the millennium.

So revered is Judi Dench that any criticism of her is akin to punching the Queen or swearing at Alan Titchmarsh.

That didn’t stop Frank Skinner having a dig at our national treasure on his very funny Absolute Radio show. In a segment which went out last year, but was repeated on one of his ‘best of’ shows last week, Frank recalled an encounter with Dame Judi.

He was having his picture taken outside posh London caff The Ivy when the actress arrived and he heard her say, “I thought this place was for celebrities.”

“She’s a woman very at home with a grimace,” says Frank, who suggests she drinks a shot of malt vinegar before each shot on the James Bond films to achieve “that horrible pinched face”.

Here’s the audio to enjoy in full, where Frank elicits gasps from co-hosts Emily Dean and Alun Cochrane.