By . Tara Brady . PUBLISHED: . 05:04 EST, 28 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 09:18 EST, 28 January 2014 . A crew member has said Dame Judi Dench needed help reading her scripts on her latest movie Philomena . Dame Judi Dench has been nominated for an Oscar for her latest role despite not being able to read her scripts or recognise faces on set due to her failing eyesight, it has been claimed. The James Bond actress revealed in 2012 that her eyesight was deteriorating and that she suffers from age-related macular degeneration - a painless eye condition that generally leads to the gradual loss of central vision. Now a crew member who worked with the 79-year-old on her latest movie Philomena, which also stars Steve Coogan, has said Dame Judi was 'inspirational' for how she coped with her failing sight. He told The Sun: 'There were many times during filming where her sight was a problem for her recognising faces or objects, and often someone would jump in and help her move about so she didn't lose her footing. 'Judi was totally inspirational. She can't read her own scripts so her friends have to go through them with her or she'll learn them on a tape recorder. 'She was absolutely wonderful because she was totally open about her eye condition and would just ask for help when she needed it or apologise for not recognising someone. 'But she was always line-perfect. 'She may not be able to see her scripts but she delivers lines like no-one else.' In 2012 Dame Judi admitted she could no longer read her scripts and that someone usually helps her. She said: 'It's usually my daughter or my agent or a friend and actually I like that, because I sit there and imagine the story in my mind. ‘I’ve got what my ma had, macular degeneration, which you get when you get old. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Dame Judi Dench pictured in Philomena, a film about a woman's search for her son who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent . The show must go on: Dame Judi Dench, left, and Steve Coogan in a scene from Philomena . Dame Judi Dench has previously admitted she takes supplements to help her memorise lines . 'I had wet in one eye and dry in the other and they had to do these injections and I think it’s arrested it. I hope so. ‘The most distressing thing is in a restaurant in the evening I can’t see the person I’m having dinner with.’ The actress revealed that her eyesight was deteriorating and she suffers from age-related macular degeneration in 2012 . However, she said it was a condition experienced by thousands of people all over the world and that it should not be blown out of proportion. In March last year the actress revealed she takes memory supplements because she struggles to remember her lines. Asked on Channel 4 News she said: '‘I don’t know how I retain it. ‘I take that wonderful thing called Eye Q every morning because the Master of Magdalen College [Cambridge] told me about it ages ago and he said “Oh you should take that for your memory, it’s wonderful” and I’ve taken it ever since. ‘It is of course more difficult to remember, to retain something, but it’s really a question of retaining the story. ‘I don’t know how I retain it. The actress has been nominated for seven Academy Awards and won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Shakespeare in Love in 1998. Last year Bafta-winning actor Sir Michael Gambon admitted he was getting so old he forgot his lines and it was also rumoured that Jack Nicholson may retire because of the same reason. Philomena Lee attending the 19th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards . As a teenager in Ireland, Philomena Lee (right) was banished to a convent for the ‘sin’ of having a baby out of wedlock, and forced to give him up. Journalist Martin Sixsmith first heard of Philomena at a New Year's Eve party in 2004 when her daughter Jane approached him for help. She told him her mother had just revealed a shocking secret - that she had a long-lost brother. Philomena had fallen pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952 when such things were considered shameful and had been sent to Sean Ross Abbey, a convent in Roscrea, County Tipperary, to give birth as a ‘fallen woman’. She was forced to spend three years in the convent, slaving in the laundries while also caring for her son, Anthony. But her child was taken from her to be adopted in America – in return for a hefty ‘donation’. Philomena spent the past 50 years searching for him while Anthony was also searching for her. Separately, and ignorant of each other’s quest, they had both visited Sean Ross Abbey. Sixsmith travelled to Ireland, America and eventually to the White House over a period of four years which eventually became the subject of his book, Philomena. The book would go on to inspire the poignant film starring Dame Judi Dench and Steve Coogan who plays Martin Sixsmith.
Actress revealed she has age-related macular degeneration in 2012 .
A crew member on latest movie Philomena says her sight was a problem .
The 79-year-old asks friends to help with scripts or she learns them on tape .
Dame Judi needed 'help so she didn't lose footing' on set of Philomena .
By . Tara Brady . PUBLISHED: . 05:04 EST, 28 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 09:18 EST, 28 January 2014 . A crew member has said Dame Judi Dench needed help reading her scripts on her latest movie Philomena . Dame Judi Dench has been nominated for an Oscar for her latest role despite not being able to read her scripts or recognise faces on set due to her failing eyesight, it has been claimed. The James Bond actress revealed in 2012 that her eyesight was deteriorating and that she suffers from age-related macular degeneration - a painless eye condition that generally leads to the gradual loss of central vision. Now a crew member who worked with the 79-year-old on her latest movie Philomena, which also stars Steve Coogan, has said Dame Judi was 'inspirational' for how she coped with her failing sight. He told The Sun: 'There were many times during filming where her sight was a problem for her recognising faces or objects, and often someone would jump in and help her move about so she didn't lose her footing. 'Judi was totally inspirational. She can't read her own scripts so her friends have to go through them with her or she'll learn them on a tape recorder. 'She was absolutely wonderful because she was totally open about her eye condition and would just ask for help when she needed it or apologise for not recognising someone. 'But she was always line-perfect. 'She may not be able to see her scripts but she delivers lines like no-one else.' In 2012 Dame Judi admitted she could no longer read her scripts and that someone usually helps her. She said: 'It's usually my daughter or my agent or a friend and actually I like that, because I sit there and imagine the story in my mind. ‘I’ve got what my ma had, macular degeneration, which you get when you get old. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Dame Judi Dench pictured in Philomena, a film about a woman's search for her son who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent . The show must go on: Dame Judi Dench, left, and Steve Coogan in a scene from Philomena . Dame Judi Dench has previously admitted she takes supplements to help her memorise lines . 'I had wet in one eye and dry in the other and they had to do these injections and I think it’s arrested it. I hope so. ‘The most distressing thing is in a restaurant in the evening I can’t see the person I’m having dinner with.’ The actress revealed that her eyesight was deteriorating and she suffers from age-related macular degeneration in 2012 . However, she said it was a condition experienced by thousands of people all over the world and that it should not be blown out of proportion. In March last year the actress revealed she takes memory supplements because she struggles to remember her lines. Asked on Channel 4 News she said: '‘I don’t know how I retain it. ‘I take that wonderful thing called Eye Q every morning because the Master of Magdalen College [Cambridge] told me about it ages ago and he said “Oh you should take that for your memory, it’s wonderful” and I’ve taken it ever since. ‘It is of course more difficult to remember, to retain something, but it’s really a question of retaining the story. ‘I don’t know how I retain it. The actress has been nominated for seven Academy Awards and won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Shakespeare in Love in 1998. Last year Bafta-winning actor Sir Michael Gambon admitted he was getting so old he forgot his lines and it was also rumoured that Jack Nicholson may retire because of the same reason. Philomena Lee attending the 19th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards . As a teenager in Ireland, Philomena Lee (right) was banished to a convent for the ‘sin’ of having a baby out of wedlock, and forced to give him up. Journalist Martin Sixsmith first heard of Philomena at a New Year's Eve party in 2004 when her daughter Jane approached him for help. She told him her mother had just revealed a shocking secret - that she had a long-lost brother. Philomena had fallen pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952 when such things were considered shameful and had been sent to Sean Ross Abbey, a convent in Roscrea, County Tipperary, to give birth as a ‘fallen woman’. She was forced to spend three years in the convent, slaving in the laundries while also caring for her son, Anthony. But her child was taken from her to be adopted in America – in return for a hefty ‘donation’. Philomena spent the past 50 years searching for him while Anthony was also searching for her. Separately, and ignorant of each other’s quest, they had both visited Sean Ross Abbey. Sixsmith travelled to Ireland, America and eventually to the White House over a period of four years which eventually became the subject of his book, Philomena. The book would go on to inspire the poignant film starring Dame Judi Dench and Steve Coogan who plays Martin Sixsmith.
January 2014 . A crew member has said Dame Judi Dench needed help reading her scripts on her latest movie Philomena . Dame Judi Dench has been recognise faces on set due to her failing sight was a problem for her recognising faces or her move about so she didn't lose her footing. them with her or she'll learn them on a tape suffers from age-related macular degeneration in