News/Current AffairsHDSubtitlesAudio DescRepeat
Duration
60 minutes

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 at 9:00pm, Saturday, 27 December 2025. (Subtitles, repeat)

Channel Numbers:
Freeview4Freeview7Freeview104Freeview110Sky HD104Sky HD851Sky104Sky108Sky135Virgin104Virgin108

Production Details

Runtime60 mins