Dame Judi Dench has recalled seeing exhausted young dancers left waiting after takes on the set of the 2019 film Cats, describing an experience that troubled her despite the goodwill she believed went into the production.
The 91-year-old actress reflects on the musical in her memoir Her comments emerged on 20 October, two days before the book's UK publication.Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?, listed for UK publication on 22 October 2026.
Dench Recalls Dancers Left Waiting After Takes
Dench played Old Deuteronomy in Tom Hooper's adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical. Reflecting on filming, she wrote that she 'didn't like the way the young dancers were left hanging at the end of each take'.
'They'd stand there exhausted and be completely ignored,' she recalled. The observation describes what Dench says she witnessed rather than an independently established account of conditions experienced by every dancer on the production.
The film brought together experienced ballet and musical-theatre performers for intricate choreography alongside visual effects intended to transform the cast into feline characters. Among the dancers were Royal Ballet principal Francesca Hayward, who played Victoria, Steven McRae and Robbie Fairchild.
Contemporary accounts dated 16 December 2019 described the demanding schedule. Dancers discussed rehearsals, ballet classes and filming days that could extend to 12 hours. Hayward was involved in every scene, leaving little opportunity to rest during the production.
Those accounts provide context for the physical demands of the shoot. They do not independently confirm Dench's separate recollection that dancers were ignored after takes, nor do they show that every performer worked identical hours.
Actress Felt Uneasy Playing Old Deuteronomy
Dench also questioned her own place in the film. In her memoir, she wrote that she felt 'ill at ease from the beginning – I just didn't feel right in the role'. She recalled spending time waiting in her trailer without being called to the set.
Her character, Old Deuteronomy, was the elderly leader of the Jellicle cats. The ensemble also included Ian McKellen, Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift and Idris Elba, alongside a large company of professional dancers.
Dench has said she never watched the finished film. Her reflections therefore concern her personal experience making it and her awareness of its reception, rather than a review of the completed production.
She nevertheless described the outcome as 'a waste of all that goodwill and talent', a criticism of how the film turned out rather than an accusation directed at the dancers or any particular colleague.
In earlier comments, separate from the new memoir, Dench likened her digitally altered character to 'a battered, mangy old cat'. The film, released in cinemas in December 2019, faced criticism for its visual effects and the appearance of its computer-generated feline characters.
'There Were No Villains', Dench Writes
Even as she criticised parts of the experience, Dench defended the intentions behind the project. 'There were no villains in the making of Cats,' she wrote in her memoir.
That was Dench's assessment, not an independent finding about the conduct of everyone involved. Her account does not identify Hooper or another named individual as responsible for the moments she found troubling.
The production attempted to bring a long-running stage musical to the screen with an ensemble combining acting, singing and demanding dance work. Its elaborate visual-effects approach attracted particular attention after the film opened in December 2019.
Dench's recollections draw a distinction between the effort and talent invested in that undertaking and the disappointment she felt about the result. She presents the treatment she says she observed as troubling while maintaining that a production can fall short without the people behind it having dishonourable intentions.
