West End theatre to be renamed in honour of Dame Judi Dench

By FRANCINE WOLFISZ, NEWS REPORTER Published: 01:13, 17 June 2026 | Updated: 01:13, 17 June 2026 She's a revered star of stage and screen with nearly 70 years' experience of treading the boards. So it's fitting that a top West End theatre is being renamed to honour Dame Judi Dench. From February next year, London's Shaftesbury Theatre will be called the Judi Dench Theatre. The Oscar-winning actress, 91, who won many new fans playing M in eight James Bond films following an illustrious career including many acclaimed Shakespearean roles, said: 'The Shaftesbury Theatre has always held a special place in my heart.  'To have this beautiful theatre renamed after me is truly overwhelming.' The venue is owned by DLT Entertainment, which co-produced Dame Judi's 1990s BBC sitcom As Time Goes By. From February next year, London's Shaftesbury Theatre will be called the Judi Dench Theatre Its chairman Donald Taffner Jr said: 'Dame Judi has been a close friend of the DLT family for so long, particularly from her involvement with As Time Goes By, and we will always treasure the time she made in her busy schedule to make the programme.'  He added that he was 'delighted to recognise her extraordinary talent'. Meanwhile, fellow Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett, 57, hopes to cause a 'creative rumpus' at Oxford University as she aims to encourage more students to take part in theatre.  The Australian actress will be a visiting professor of contemporary theatre at St Catherine's College from the autumn. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.