Dame Judi Dench tells aspiring stars on Desert Island Discs to stop mumbling

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Veteran actress said that actors are not taught to project any more
She said all but one of her leading men had 'glorious senses of humour'
Dame Judi was speaking to Kirsty Young on Desert Island Discs
She picked Radio 4's Shipping Forecast as one of her tracks

By Chris Hastings for The Mail on Sunday

Published: 19:29 EST, 19 September 2015 | Updated: 21:57 EST, 19 September 2015

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Dame Judi Dench said that drama schools do not teach actors to project any more during an interview for Radio 4's Desert Island Discs

She's one of the finest actresses of her generation, thrilling audiences with her roles on stage and screen.

And now Dame Judi Dench has issued a simple message to aspiring young stars hoping to follow in her footsteps: Stop mumbling and speak up.

The Oscar-winning star is fed up with poor enunciation – and blames drama schools for declining standards.

In an interview for Desert Island Discs, to be broadcast today on BBC Radio 4, Dame Judi says: 'Drama schools don't teach actors to project any more. In a lot of theatres now you get a mic.

'We never did. You just learn that the person sitting in the back seat of the upper circle is the person you play to.'

Dame Judi picked Radio 4's Shipping Forecast as one of her desert island tracks, saying it 'is something that I listen to regularly'.

During the interview, she also reveals that all the leading men she has starred with have had 'glorious senses of humour' - except one.

She says: 'I don't know the answer to who is my favourite leading man, except that all of them, bar one I think, had glorious senses of humour.

'And no, I'm not going to tell you who the one was.'

The star, whose West End credits include Madame de Sade, says she considered giving up her career following the birth of her daughter Finty in 1972, but was urged to carry on by her late husband, actor Michael Williams.