Judi Dench explains why says she really hates being called a ‘national treasure’

Dame Judi Dench has revealed that she wishes people didn’t only associate her with playing nice characters.

The 82-year-old English actress – who, we should point out, seems to be absolutely lovely in real life – says she’s much more interested in playing rebellious roles.

Dench told The Times that she’s particularly unimpressed with the notion that she’s “a f***ing national treasure.”

She commented: “Everyone says it, everyone. It’s horrible, it’s awful. I hate it!”

The Skyfall star explained: “I’d like much more to be the Notes on a Scandal woman than the Marigold Hotel woman, do you know what I mean?”

Dame Judi Dench will reprise her Oscar-nominated role as Queen Victoria in a new period drama movie later this month.

Directed by Stephen Frears (The Queen), Victoria & Abdul tells the extraordinary true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria’s remarkable rule.

Fans shouldn’t expect to see Dench playing other queens in future, however.

She told The Times: “No, I don’t particularly want to play queens. You don’t actually think of Cleopatra as a queen. You just think of her as somebody who behaves rather badly, now and again. But — if there’s a queen that behaves really badly…”

She joked: “You know, I long to find this film where this woman walks a tightrope and turns into a dragon. If that part is around, and she happens to be a queen, that’s fine, too.”

Victoria & Abdul is playing in US cinemas now.

Watch the trailer:

The official synopsis reads: “When Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favor with the Queen herself.

“As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.”