Dame Judi Dench feels ''most comfortable'' on the stage.

The 85-year-old actress has enjoyed huge success on stage and screen during her career, but she admits to feeling most at home at the theatre.

She shared: ''If anything about work, that's the place I'm most comfortable. Absolutely. No question about it.

''That whole kind of ambience of getting ready and backstage jokes and things and preparing yourself for it all or not preparing yourself for it.

''And having somebody there that you're doing it for or just inventing somebody that you're doing it for. But I do love it. The process of it.''

The acclaimed actress loves rehearsing for a stage production, revealing she feels free to ''make mistakes'' and ''try anything''.

Speaking about her approach to rehearsals, she told 'David Tennant Does A Podcast With...': ''It's about everyone feeling as if they just can do what they like.

''It's a rehearsal time, for God's sake. You can make mistakes and you can try anything. If you feel inhibited or nervous about the presence of somebody else, you reserve something.

''Rehearsals is a time for not rehearsing anything, for chucking it all in and then sorting out the bits that you think you need to use.''

But in spite of her preparation, the veteran star has still suffered from stage fright during her career.

She said: ''I've dried in the middle of songs. That's tricky ... The music keeps going all the time and nobody's taking notice of you. That's tricky.

''I remember when Johnny Neville came to see 'Cabaret' and I wanted it to go so well that night. And I dried in the middle of a song.''

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