Jay Blade gets emotional during Shakespeare reading
Dame Judi Dench was left fighting back tears as she shared a heart-warming moment with Jay Blades after he opened up on a personal struggle.
The legendary actress, 89, and TV host Jay, 54, first met three years ago when Judi appeared on The Repair Shop in the hope that the restorers could fix a pocket watch that belonged to her late husband.
Since then the pair have gone on to become good friends. They returned to our TV screens on Sunday night for a special one-off documentary titled The Odd Couple.
Viewers saw the pair learn more about each other’s very different lives and just minutes in they shared an emotional moment. Judi took Jay to The Old Vic Theatre in London, where she has appeared in many stage productions over the years.
Walking inside, Judi was overwhelmed as she turned to Jay and said: “Oh my God. Just look at that, doesn’t it look beautiful? What a funny feeling standing here.”
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Jay took the opportunity to be a part of Judi’s world as he decided to perform a Shakespeare passage at the theatre despite not feeling comfortable reading out loud because of his dyslexia.
He revealed that he has loved Dyslexia his whole life and learned to read and write when he was 51 years old.
Opening up, Jay went on to say: “Performing here might be second nature to Judi but for me, it’s the complete opposite. I’ve lived with Dyslexia my whole life and I learned to read and write at 51.”
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Looking up at Judi he continued: “Coming here today, I wanted to read to you some Shakespeare but reading that in public I just don’t do it but I thought since I am with you I am going to give it a go.”
Taking a deep breath, Jay went on to read the passage and Judi was left emotional as she supported him the whole way.
The pair shared a hug as Judi said: “Jay. There are easier things to learn than that, that was fantastic.”
Jay explained: “Reading is like kryptonite to me but she is doing things with me that she hasn’t done before so I’ve got to do things and push myself.”
Speaking to the camera, Judi fought back tears as she added: “This is the most important place to me because it started here but seeing it through Jay's eyes I will never forget it.”
Dame Judi and Jay: The Odd Couple is avalable to watch on Channel 4
