Why would someone like Judy Dench…

[Yeahyeahno]

Do shit TV adverts for money comparison sites. I don’t get it. She’s worth £45m. She’s a ‘national icon’. A dame! Why would you bother? It’s perplexes me

My Granny was a GP, she had about 3 retirement parties as she kept getting bored and going back to work!
And then when she was nearing the end in a nursing home she still had piled of well thumbed medical journals everywhere

i am fairly certain I will be the same! I love my job and I feel lucky that I am in no rush to retire

Yes, she has a lot of money. However, if you have grown up poor or struggling that feeling of anxiousness never leaves you and I totally get why it might mean she feels she should keep working. Not to mention, perhaps she enjoys working and it makes her feel useful and productive- not everyone wants to sit at home doing nothing- lots of people have a very strong work ethic that forms part of their identity.

Also, I suspect that when you reach a certain age as a woman, the film/tv roles dry up significantly- many actresses over 40 have talked about this issue because hollywood is very sexist and tends to have amazing roles for older men, always paired with much younger women. Its a big issue. Therefore, I can totally get why she continues to take paid work.

Because she's from Yorkshire and tight as they come. Never one to turn down a pound for an honest day's work!

If you spend your life fearing being out of work, then giving up work is not easy.

Use it or lose it, many people fear stopping doing things because they won't get that ability or opportunity back again.

It is easy money for someone like her and is no longer the death knell to an acting career it once did, but in any case at her age, thats not really a concern.

She's just not precious about things, its a job, one she is capable of doing, is significantly less difficult than a film or tv drama for her to do, is probably a giggle as well and why not!

Having a bad day?

Forgot to say that Brian Cox (the actor not the physicist) did a tv programme recently about money/wealth and he grew up dirt poor and said this exact thing- he feels compelled to keep working even though he could retire because he has an inner fear of going back to poverty. He also has a lot of money and doesnt "need" to work to survive.

What’s her relevance to this thread though?

Beat me to it. Do love Judyi.

I am very tenuously related to a long dead minor character actor.

He used to work right into his nineties and loved it. His preference was anything on location as he got put up in a nice hotel, got treated like a king, met his mates and had a full English breakfast.

So while I also wondered why if you have that much money, you would do a crappy ad, I guess Dame Judi enjoys it.

Also my DM had tea with Judi Dench and said she was the nicest actor she met (and she met loads via the relative) so I am not prepared to hear a bad word about her.

She now has a degenerative eye disease which means she is now unable to read scripts so this is probably the easiest option added to the fact she is in her late 80's I can't imagine why you're wondering! I think she's amazing

She is indeed very lovely and courteous in my experience. I hope she is enjoying her life.

@DeliciouslyDecadent , I think it's part of MN bash-a-celeb bingo.
Have a look at all the threads criticising Megan.

Same! I love her and I'm surprised people think its incredulous she wants to keep working, people dont just work for money. Research has shown that some form of work or challenge to the brain is good for you as you age.

You can have a lot of assets but still be cash poor. You can seem wealthy but still overspend.

Or the offer came in via her agent and they both looked at the enormous fee and though it would be silly to turn that amount of money down for a days work.

I’m with you op, it feels somehow greedy?
She’s taking a job from an unknown actor who would probably have done it for a couple of hundred quid.
If she is bored there’s 101 things she could do for charity.
Do people really buy insurance or whatever because someone famous is in the ad, without actually comparing prices/what you are getting?

Every little helps. Maybe she's using the little ad change she earns to buy presents or something.

Can I quote you the example of Hugh Laurie. He was approached by Gillette to do some crappy advert. He turned it down.
So they offered more. Still 'no'.
So they offered more ...
HL eventually clicked that Gillette were going to pay somebody/anybody vast sums of money for an easy day's work. So he took the gig.
And instead of the already-rich actor taking the money, he gave it to charity.
Class.

If you watch her on the most recent Louis Theroux doc, she explains how she works because she loves it. She very rarely watches anything she's in, instead goes for jobs for her own craft and enjoyment and to test herself as an actress

It’s not just her who will earn, also her agent.

And the ad doesn’t work with an unknown actor, the whole point is that she’s in it because she played M in Bond.

What makes you think they would have given it to an unknown actor if she'd turned it down?

Money is the answer. Always the answer "maybe she donated it to charity" yeah right . You are right BTW this place is beyond bizarre these days.

It's a bit naff to be trading on her role as M IMO but Money Supermarket are a respectable company - it's not like she's flogging dodgy timeshare deals or bingo websites.

She probably just likes working and doesn't have much choice of full length roles with very limited eyesight.

Many rich and famous people quietly give to charity without ever making it public.

(I know because of a previous job I had in the charity sector)

Well, you are, as you're judging her and questions her decisions when they have nothing to do with you.
Why do retired people work in Asda as greeters, or anyone volunteer. Same principle.