Dame Judi Dench gets Dorchester honour

Dame Judi Dench was honoured with the Dorchester Outstanding Achievement Award at a ceremony in London today (25.01.11).

The 76-year-old actress was presented with the prize by theatre legend Sir Peter Hall - who first worked with her in 1962 - at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards at the Dorchester Hotel and although a clearly emotional Judi revealed she was delighted with the honour, she joked in her acceptance speech she hoped this wasn't the end of her career.

Judi said: "I'm so overwhelmed by this and I hope it doesn't mean I've got to finish now and not go on working. I'm very alarmed about that because I've got a year planned out now and I want to go on doing it if I can."

Other winners at the event - which was hosted by Melvyn Bragg - included low budget movie 'Monsters' which won the Best Film award, presented to director Gareth Edwards by Rupert Grint and 'This is England '86', which took home the top honours in the Best Drama category beating 'Misfits' and 'Sherlock Holmes'.

Plan B beat off stiff competition from Foals and Tinie Tempah to win the Best Pop award presented by Ronnie Wood and the Rolling Stones legend revealed he is a fan of the rapper.

He told BANG Showbiz: "I haven't listened to a hell of a lot of his stuff but I have that album 'The Defamation of Strickland Banks' and I like the song 'Prayin'. It's a really good song."

Full list of winners:

Dorchester Outstanding Achievement Award:

Dame Judi Dench

Film:

'Monsters'

TV Drama:

'This is England '86'

Comedy:

'Rev'

Pop:

Plan B

Theatre:

'Clybourne Park' at the Royal Court

Classical Music:

BBC Philharmonic and The Halle, Mahler's 8th Symphony

Dance:

Akram Khan's Gnosis at Sadler's Wells

Literature:

'What to Look for in Winter: A Memoir of Blindness' by Candia McWilliam

Opera:

Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Welsh National Opera

Visual Arts:

Tacita Dean Craneway Event, Frith Street Gallery

The Times Breakthrough Award:

Everything Everything