The two stars were the same age, and had performed together on numerous occasions over the decades.

The world is mourning the loss of yet another extraordinary talent as Dame Maggie Smith has sadly passed away at the age of 89.

Dame Judi Dench was moved to tears on Saturday after she was asked about her late friends Maggie Smith and Barbara Leigh-Hunt.

A week after Maggie Smith‘s death, best friend Dame Judi Dench is at a loss for words. When asked about Smith’s death at age 89, as well as the death of friend and collaborator Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Dench broke down into tears during a conversation on Saturday at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith had been close friends since their time at the Old Vic theatre in London in the 1950s