Judi Dench admits posting dead rat through neighbour's letterbox
Dame Judi Dench has admitted that, as a child, she posted a dead rat through a neighbour's letterbox on her brothers' orders. The 91-year-old actress told the BBC's This Natural Life podcast she delivered the rodent with a note demanding cricket balls back from neighbour Ms Lazenby.
The revelation has surprised fans of the acclaimed star, who is more often associated with stage and screen prestige than backyard mischief. Yet the anecdote fits a long pattern of Judi Dench speaking candidly about her life — a habit that continues as she prepares to return to television with Sir Ian McKellen.
Key Takeaways
- Dame Judi Dench, 91, told the BBC's This Natural Life podcast she once squeezed a dead rat through a neighbour's letterbox on her brothers' instructions.
- Brothers Peter and Jeffery packaged the rodent with a note reading "please give us our balls back" after Ms Lazenby refused to return wayward cricket balls.
- Ms Lazenby reportedly arrived at the Dench home within about 90 minutes, and the children were banned from playing cricket again.
- The confession highlights Dench's willingness to share unfiltered childhood stories even as she remains a major figure in British entertainment.
- Separately, Tea with Judi Dench is set to return to Sky Arts in August with guest Sir Ian McKellen.
What did Judi Dench admit on the podcast?
Appearing on the BBC's This Natural Life podcast, Dame Judi Dench described how her two older brothers, Peter and Jeffery, used to play cricket in the garden. Balls frequently sailed over the fence into neighbouring gardens.
One neighbour, a woman called Ms Lazenby, would never return the balls, Dench said. That refusal eventually prompted what the actress herself labelled a "terrible story."
After the boys found a dead rat in the barn, they parcelled it up and handed it to a young Judi with a simple instruction: go round and put it through Ms Lazenby's door.
Why did Judi Dench's brothers send the rat?
According to Dench, the prank was a protest against Ms Lazenby's refusal to throw back cricket balls that landed in her garden. Her brothers included a note inside the package that read: "please give us our balls back."
Dench told listeners she carried out the delivery herself. "So I did go, and squeezed it through Ms Lazenby's door," she said on the podcast.
The stunt was not subtle. Ms Lazenby reportedly appeared at the Dench household roughly an hour and a half later. Dench added: "I don't think we were allowed to play cricket again."
Why does this story matter for Judi Dench's public image?
The rat-in-the-letterbox tale is decades old, but its timing keeps Dench in the headlines for reasons beyond her acting credits. Fans and commentators have seized on the image of one of Britain's most decorated performers as a mischievous child caught up in her brothers' scheme.
The anecdote also underscores how openly Dench discusses her upbringing. That same frankness is expected when Tea with Judi Dench returns this summer on Sky Arts, Freeview and the streaming service NOW, with Sir Ian McKellen joining her at home for an hour-long conversation about life on and off stage.
Producer Nancy Strang has previously praised Dench's "warmth, intelligence and mischievousness" — qualities that, for many listeners, now carry a rather more literal childhood echo. For more on stories shaping the entertainment world, see our Celebrity Breaking News coverage.
Where can readers find the original report?
The admission was reported by The Telegraph, which covered Dench's comments from the BBC podcast. Dench described the incident herself during the broadcast, framing it as a childhood escapade rather than a recent event.
Dench, meanwhile, continues a busy public schedule. Beyond the returning Sky Arts special with McKellen — following last year's episode featuring Sir Kenneth Branagh — she remains one of the UK's most recognisable stage and screen stars at 91.