Tree planted in honour of Maggie Smith bore fruit on the day of her funeral, reveals Judi Dench

Oscar-winning actor Maggie Smith died in a hospital aged 89 in September. Her friend, Dame Judi Dench, planted an apple tree in her memory.

Updated on: Dec 29, 2024, 08:53:36 IST

By Abhimanyu Mathur

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When veteran actor Maggie Smith passed away in September, her friend and fellow actor, Dame Judi Dench, planted a tree in honour. Dench has now revealed that the apple tree bore fruit on the day of her friend's funeral. h Oscar-winning actor, Dame Maggie, known for prominent roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, died in hospital aged 89 in September.

British actress Maggie Smith poses for photographers at the Evening Standard British Film Awards in London, Britain February 7, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo (REUTERS)

To mark what would have been Maggie Smith’s 90th birthday on Saturday, a dedicated programme reflected on her life and career, titled Maggie Smith At The BBC. (Also read: Maggie Smith to be honoured in Downton Abbey 3, confirms executive producer)

Judi Dench on Maggie Smith

Dame Judi, known for planting individual trees in memory of her friends who have died, revealed in the programme that she found out Dame Maggie’s crab apple tree had produced fruit on the day of her funeral. “I had it in my pocket at her funeral, which was a very nice thing to have. We had such great times”, she said.

The two worked together on various projects, including 2004’s Ladies In Lavender and 1985’s A Room With A View. Recalling their time together, Dame Judi said: “I have known her for a long, long time. Very, very funny and unbelievably witty, and a really sweet and special friend.” The veteran actor also admitted Dame Maggie could be “quite frightening” at times and joked that “you didn’t want to be on the wrong side of Mags”.

Stage and screen star Sir Derek Jacobi agreed that Dame Maggie could be “terrifying because she was so gifted”. He added: “I was just in awe of her, but you had to get over that. Being in awe of her didn’t last because she wouldn’t let it last.”

Maggie Smith remembered

The programme, which aired on BBC Two, looked back on her life through interviews from those who knew her, and with clips from the 1960s to the 2020s, of Dame Maggie performing in various shows and films.

(Inputs from PA Media)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhimanyu Mathur
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More

Judi Dench

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