Judi Dench was 'warned by M&S manager' not to shoplift after Tracey Ullman kleptomaniac sketch

Virgin Radio

28 Feb 2022, 17:14

Advertisement

Credit: BBC

How awkward is this? The acting legend was given a talking while out shopping following the comedian's impression of the national treasure as a shoplifter in her 2016 show.

Ullman revealed on the Tea with Twiggy podcast how she had sent apology gifts to the award-winning star after her in-store ticking off.

Tracey explained about the show: "It was just fun. Then the Judi Dench called me and said 'I've been having a problem in Marks and Spencer's'. She said the store manager had said to her 'I'm watching you'.

"Like she was really going to steal stuff so I felt a bit bad so I said to Judi a big, big, big, big thank you for letting me steal her persona and use it on my show.

Credit: BBC

"I sent her a nice present, I sent her some nice pottery and she said 'I got the presents and the pottery I swiftly smashed' like pretending she was being naughty but she was such a good sport about it."

She added: "How would I have called Judi and said 'Judi, I'm going to portray you as a kleptomaniac'. It wouldn't have gone down that well."

Advertisement

She continued: "When I was Judi Dench in Richmond [London] when we were filming my BBC show and I took my lunch hour and I decided to go and look into the shops as Judi.

"And people were just like, 'oh we loved you in the Bond films'.

"Sometimes people look at the make-up and go 'oh that's weird, there's a bit of glue on her head' and some people don't look at it at all.

"So I went shopping in Margaret Howell as Judi Dench and that was just so much fun because the two people in the shop really believed I was Judi Dench and I just got such a kick out of it."

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Back to top
Virgin Logo

GET IN TOUCH

Contact us

STAY IN TOUCH

© 2023 News UK Broadcasting Ltd. Our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy are applicable to you. All rights reserved. VIRGIN and the VIRGIN signature logo are registered trademarks of Virgin Enterprises Limited and are used under licence. For more information on Virgin Radio International visit www.virginradio.com