EXCLUSIVE: British acting icon Judi Dench is heading round the UK for Channel 4 with her new best mate Jay Blades.
The pair have landed a nostalgic one-episode travelogue titled Judi & Jay: The Odd Couple from Blades’ Hungry Jay Media.
The Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love star met the Repair Shop host three years ago and they hit it off. Taking a whistle-stop tour down memory lane, the pair will uncover secrets from each other’s past in The Odd Couple, sharing funny and heart-warming stories along the way. Travelling together across the UK, exploring London and Stratford-upon-Avon, they will unveil anecdotes about the path to successes, introducing each other to special people, past times and places that have influenced who they are from Hackney’s Ridley Road Market to The Old Vic theater.
The project is Dench’s first documentary for Channel 4, although she has made drama for the channel in the past such as Behaving Badly.
“Sometimes if you’re very lucky you get to meet someone and find you’re totally on the same wavelength,” said Dench. “What fun I had filming this programme with Jay, sharing memories of our past, both so different, finding we have the same sense of humour. I could have gone on filming for days.”
Blades, who hosts smash BBC series The Repair Shop, added: “To learn about a new friend’s past really solidifies the future of your friendship. Going down memory lane with someone dear to you is something I would urge everyone to do. This show has given me memories and a friendship I will cherish forever.”
The Odd Couple was commissioned for Channel 4 by Deborah Dunnett, with Head of Lifestyle Jo Street. The documentary is directed and produced by Tom Green for Hungry Jay Media.
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