Appearing on The Graham Norton Show, Dame Judi Dench shared a rare and personal insight into her decades-long marriage to fellow actor Michael Williams, revealing a remarkably steadfast romantic gesture he maintained throughout their relationship.
The acclaimed actor, who was married to Williams for three decades before his death, recounted how her late husband marked every single week of their life together with a thoughtful token of affection. The couple wed in 1971, sharing the stage that same year in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of The Duchess of Malfi.
Reflecting on her life a quarter of a century after Williams passed away from lung cancer in 2001, Dench admitted that the passage of time has done little to diminish her daily sense of his absence. At 91 years old, she said that she still catches herself expecting him to return home.
‘I still miss him. Even now, 25 years on, I imagine he’s going to walk in through the front door,’ she said.
During the conversation, the actor touched upon their family life and the future they had originally envisioned together. The couple welcomed one daughter, Finty Williams, who followed her parents into the acting profession. Dench recalled that they had initially hoped to expand their family further.
I worked a lot. I suppose you don’t stop to consider, really.’
When discussing the bedrock of their enduring relationship, Dench pointed directly to their shared sense of humor as the primary foundation that sustained them through decades of marriage and demanding careers.
‘It was a sense of humour,’ Dench previously stated, reflecting on what held them together. ‘Oh, God, how he used to make me laugh. He used to make me absolutely howl.’
Following Williams’ death, Dench later entered into a relationship with conservationist David Mills in 2010. However, she has continued to speak openly about feeling the lingering spirit of her first husband within the home and gardens they once shared.
‘His presence is very much in our house, and the garden and everything,’ she said.
Addressing her current relationship alongside these enduring memories, Dench expressed gratitude for finding companionship once again while acknowledging that her bond with Williams remains unbroken.
‘Although I have met David… And that’s just lovely because we laugh about the same things. I suspect I shall never ever get over Mikey,’ she added.
The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One and iPlayer.
