Dame Judi Dench says the Cats movie was a 'waste of goodwill and talent'

Dame Judi Dench says the Cats movie was a "waste of goodwill and talent".

The 91-year-old acting icon admitted the 2019 film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's legendary West End musical was a complete cat-astrophe, but the star - who portrayed Old Deuteronomy in the film - has never seen the finished version.

Writing in her memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run For It?, she wrote: "Oh God, I can’t bear it - and [Lloyd Webber] had waited so long for it to be made.

"What a waste of all that goodwill and talent.

"I understand the critics were rather hostile to the film.

"I never saw the final cut so I can’t judge."

However, Judi insisted the cast - who included Francesca Hayward, James Corden, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Sir Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, and Ray Winstone - did their "best".

She added: "All I’ll say is nobody sets out to give a poor performance or make a bad film.

"You do your best, offer something up and hope that people will get on board and join the party.

"Sometimes things just don’t work out: the timing’s wrong, the cast don’t gel, the elements don’t coalesce."