Judi Dench
Dame Judi Dench has macular degeneration, a disease commonly found in people aged 60 or above. The condition has affected the actress' ability to read scripts. REUTERS

Dame Judi Dench has quashed rumors that suggest she is going blind. The Oscar-winning actress announced that she is suffering from a degenerative eye condition, which she does not wish to be overblown by the media.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror published on Saturday, the 77-year-old actress revealed that an age-related eye condition has resulted in her partially losing her sight, which lead to wide-spread speculation that she was going blind, according to Reuters.

Dench revealed that the condition called macular degeneration made it difficult to read scripts and see people clearly. This condition is something that thousands and thousands of people all over the world are having to contend with. It's something that I have learnt to cope with and adapt to - and it will not lead to blindness, she told Reuters.

The actress told the Daily Mirror that her daughter, agent and friends help her with her lines when she struggles to see them. I like that, because I sit there and imagine the story in my mind, she told the newspaper. The most distressing thing is in a restaurant in the evening I can't see the person I'm having dinner with, she added.

Just under one third of Britons aged 75 or over has signs of macular degeneration, according to the British National Health Service (NHS). It is a painless condition that erodes central vision.

The condition has two different forms. One dry, which effects central vision only and then wet, which can cause blind spots. Dench revealed to the Daily Mirror that she has dry in one eye and wet in the other, which is being treated by various injections.

Dench won an Academy Award for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love and is best known for her role in James Bond as an intelligence chief. She has starred in over 100 films and won 10 BAFTA awards.