Judi Dench gets teary-eyed after seeing pair of wild golden eagles despite deteriorating eyesight

EAGLE BRAE, SCOTLAND: On Sunday's special Countryfile broadcast on September 3, Dame Judi Dench experienced a life-changing moment when she saw a pair of rare golden eagles in the wild.

In the BBC special, 88-year-old Judi shared her love for Scotland while taking in the breathtaking landscape before her.

Later, after she only remembered catching a glimpse of a bird of prey in Scotland years before, presenter Hamza Yassin helped her realize a lifelong dream of seeing golden eagles in the wild.

Judi Dench and 'Strictly Come Dancing' winner Hamza Yassin were travelling to a 'secret location'

Judi, the star of 'Philomena', and 'Strictly Come Dancing' champion Hamza, 33, were travelling to a "secret location" when the latter noticed a male and a female golden eagle soar out of the fog.

Judi had described her earlier brush with the bird of prey before this rare sighting with Hamza, saying, "We were on a back road, I was driving and I looked up and there was an eagle. I said to my daughter Finty, 'You look at the road, I'll look at the eagle'. I was driving, shameful isn't it," as reported by Mirror.

Judi Dench was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration 

The renowned actress, 88, who has age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and was diagnosed in 2012, was able to view the rare golden eagles in the field clearly, thanks to Hamza Yassin, who is an expert wildlife filmmaker.

Judi was overwhelmed by the extraordinary event, which she was able to witness, despite her deteriorating eyesight, with the aid of the camera's monitor. Two golden eagles were flying close to a kestrel in the sky.

Judi, who looked tearful, said: "I could see one and you are a witness to seeing that I saw it… how breathtaking, I'm very overcome… it's an enormous privilege, don't you [think]. How often does anybody see that? Not very often."

To which Hamza replied: "There's few people in the UK that can say they've seen a golden eagle in the wild… and doing some pretty impressive behaviour."

Judi then said: "How brilliant. And I can keep that [the video] and show it? I never quite thought it would happen. [I believed] well, we'll go out and we'll be looking. They won't [appear]… we saw them… thank you so much."

Dame Judi has been on Countryfile before

Judi's grandson Sam observed tartan being produced for the 'Bond' actress, and her partner David Mills, who founded the British Wildlife Centre on his Surrey farm, also appeared during the recent broadcast.

Dame Judi has previously been on Countryfile, and in 2016, she appeared in a William Shakespeare special, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death.