Dench’s winter romance

Judi Dench never expected to fall in love again, said Jessica Callan in Good Housekeeping (U.K.). The Oscar-winning actress was left heartbroken in 2001 when her husband of 30 years, the actor Michael Williams, died following a battle with lung cancer. Dench, now 82, was devastated to lose her best friend, and didn’t think “for a second” about meeting someone else. But then British conservationist David Mills, 74, asked Dench, a fellow animal lover, to open a new badger enclosure at his Surrey zoo. Romance blossomed— taking Dench completely by surprise. “One hot night during the summer, we swam and then had a glass of Champagne in the garden, and I said, ‘This is so fantastic!’” she says. “Perhaps if I was a romantic, I’d have been cool and calm about it. I get a bit overexcited about things.” Dench is enjoying her unexpected companionship. “I have a jolly nice friend now. I don’t know what the word is because I don’t like the word ‘partner’. Partner is something to do with dancing. ‘Partner’—horrible word. Friend? No. Boyfriend? No. Chap? Will chap do?” But she’s adamant that they won’t be walking down the aisle. “He’s not going to propose. No, no, no, no, no! Let’s all just pull ourselves together and be our age!”