Britain has produced its fair share of cinematic icons, and Judi Dench remains one of the most recognisable, having starred in eight James Bond movies as M, as well as earning acclaim for performances in films like A Room with a View, Shakespeare in Love, Pride & Prejudice, and Philomena. The actor might not have begun appearing in movies on a regular basis until the 1990s, but she has been an accomplished star for decades, having cut her teeth in the theatre as one of the stage’s most prolific actors.

Well-versed in Shakespeare, Dench has studied the art of different kinds of acting, becoming just as proficient in intense dramas as she is in comedies. While many of Dench’s acting roles have been widely praised, and she has earned eight Academy Award nominations over the years – winning one for Shakespeare in Love – that hasn’t stopped her from making a few cinematic blunders.

Some of her worst movies include Artemis Fowl and Tulip Fever, but it could only be Cats that stands out as her most notorious. The movie, believe it or not, had the potential to be good, at least on paper. It was an adaptation of the hit musical, had an Oscar-winning director, Tom Hooper, at the helm, and a star-studded cast which included Idris Elba, Ian McKellen, Ray Winstone, and Jennifer Hudson. However, it all went wrong when the decision to use a weird blend of live-action and CGI made for an ugly and uncomfortable spectacle of cat-human hybrids.

The film was panned as one of the worst movies ever made, and people couldn’t believe that it had actually been released. There were obvious CGI errors, such as one sequence in which Dench’s human hand is visible. From the terrible visuals to the bad editing and bizarre musical performances, nothing could save Cats – not even superstar Taylor Swift.

Dench was nominated for ‘Worst Supporting Actor’ by the Golden Raspberry Awards – one of nine nominations the film picked up from the notorious ceremony. It won six of these, including ‘Worst Picture’ and ‘Worst Director’, luckily sparing Dench. Still, she has no regrets.

When asked about her nomination by Radio 4, the actor replied, “Oh, am I?”, oblivious to the fact she’d scooped up a nod from the infamous Razzies. “That would be good! As far as I know, that’s a first!”

The actor then admitted that she hasn’t even seen the film, adding, “I’ve only seen a picture of myself [in the film]… I thought I was playing a kind of, you know, mangier cat who didn’t have much fur. I didn’t realise I was this wonderful show cat!”

It seems as though Dench took the film’s failure on the chin, unbothered by the fact that practically everything about it, including her own performance, was slated. Cats might have been a travesty to the art of cinema – and a disservice to the original classic musical – but it wasn’t that big of a deal to Dench in the grand scheme of things. She has so many strong credits to her name that a true misfire was bound to appear at some point in her career.