TV preview - Judi Dench: My Passion For Trees

But few people know that Judi holds another great passion – a deep love for trees.

This one-hour special, filmed over the course of a year, is a magical study of the changing seasons and their effect on the Yorkshire-born actress’s own secret woodland at her home in Surrey.

Dame Judi has long been fascinated with trees, sharing her passion for them with her late husband, the actor Michael Williams. Together they nurtured their woodland at their home. For the past seven years she has continued to care for her grove with wildlife enthusiast David Mills. Dame Judi has planted trees for dear friends and family who have passed away.

She unlocks the remarkable secret lives of trees and the stories that they tell us. Dame Judi learns just how effective trees are as carbon capture machines that protect our planet. With the help of experts, she also learns about the intricate underground fungi network that connects many trees in a forest together.

It’s confirmation for Dame Judi that there’s so much more to the trees she loves: they are a real community that help each other, humans and the planet.

Judi Dench: My Passion For Trees, Wednesday, December 20, BBC1, 8pm