Dame Judi Dench has told people to “just keep laughing” in the face of the coronavirus crisis in a heartwarming Twitter video.
Dench’s daughter Finty Williams shared a short clip of the actress on social media, showing the legendary actress, 85, wearing a dog-shaped hat.
As Dench said “Oh, there you are!” to the camera, the ears on her hat moved upwards.
She added: “Just keep laughing, that’s all we can do.”
Williams captioned her post: “Message from ma.”
Earlier this week, the Oscar winner starred in a special handwashing tutorial which made a tongue-in-cheek nod to her recent role in the critically derided film adaptation of Cats.
In the video shared on Twitter, Dench stood in a kitchen with her friend and fellow actor Gyles Brandreth as they lathered up their hands in accordance with government advice to limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
Turning to the camera, the pair then took it in turns to recite the opening verses of Edward Lear’s nonsense poem The Owl And The Pussy-Cat.
As Brandreth reached the line “What a beautiful pussy you are,” Dench began to purr in a bizarre nod to her turn as Old Deuteronomy in Tom Hooper’s film.
Brandreth then added: “Wash your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds and you too will get the purr of satisfaction. A purr and good health too.”
The duo then turned back to the sink to rinse their hands.
Captioning the video, Brandreth wrote: “A Public Service Poem – from Judi Dench & Gyles Brandreth.”
Dench recently confirmed that she is yet to watch Hooper’s film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical.
“No, I haven’t seen it,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Front Row earlier this month.
“I didn’t read anything about the response to it nor have I seen it, and I’ve only seen a picture of myself.”
