Judi Dench shares private emotional tribute to Maggie Smith

Dame Judi Dench paid a very personal tribute to her late pal Dame Maggie Smith.

Smith, who was known for her role as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter series and a celebrated career spanning over 6 decades, died in September, aged 89.

In a new interview for a BBC tribute to Maggie, Judi shared that she planted a tree in memory of her friend of decades. The Victoria & Abdul star has a personal tradition of panting trees as tributes to late loved ones.

She has planted individual trees in her home in Surrey to honor her loved ones including Alan Rickman, Helen McCrory, Diana Rigg, and her late husband, Michael Williams.

She revealed that her tree for Maggie had begun fruiting by the time her funeral took place.

“Joe, who works for me, came in and he had one little crab apple,” Judi told the BBC.

“And so I had it in my pocket at her funeral, which was a very nice thing to have,” she added.

The celebrated actresses became friends in 1957 after meeting in a dressing room at the Old Vic theatre.

Judi Dench and Maggie Smith co-starred in movies like 1984 film A Private Function, 1985’s A Room With a View, and 1999’s Tea With Mussolini, 2004’s Ladies in Lavender, 2011’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its 2015 sequel The Second Best Marigold Hotel.