Quick Summary
The actress investigates a link between one of her ancestors and the bard
About This Program
The actress investigates a story from her family's past, delving into the archives to discover if one of her ancestors really did meet Shakespeare. The encounter is said to have occurred in 1606, a tumultuous year for both the Bard, who wrote three of his greatest plays, and England, with an outbreak of plague and the Gunpowder Plot. Judi's journey takes her from Denmark's Kronberg castle, the inspiration for Shakespeare's Elsinore in Hamlet, to some of England's finest buildings, including the Old Naval College at Greenwich, the Tower of London, Eltham Palace and Hampton Court Palace
Judi Dench: Shakespeare, My Family and Me broadcasts on Channel 4 +1 at 9:00pm, Thursday, 1 January 2026. (Subtitles, repeat)
