Dame Judi Dench has shared one of the most unexpected stories from her childhood—and it’s left fans both laughing and stunned.

The Oscar-winning actress, now 91, admitted that she once pushed a dead rat through a neighbor’s letterbox after her older brothers convinced her to help them get revenge over a long-running cricket dispute.

The hilarious confession came during an appearance on the BBC’s This Natural Life podcast, where Judi looked back on growing up with her brothers and the unforgettable prank that ended their neighborhood cricket games for good.

The Neighbor Who Never Returned the Cricket Balls

Recalling her childhood, Judi explained that her brothers, Peter and Jeffrey, were constantly hitting cricket balls into neighboring gardens.

One particular neighbor, Ms. Lazenby, became infamous in the family because she refused to return any of the balls that landed on her property.

“The boys used to play cricket in the garden,” Judi recalled. “They were always batting the balls over into other gardens, and there was a lady called Ms. Lazenby who would never, ever give us the balls back.”

That ongoing frustration eventually inspired a rather unusual plan.

The Dead Rat Revenge

According to Judi, her brothers discovered a dead rat in the family barn and decided it could become the centerpiece of their protest.

They wrapped it in a parcel, added a handwritten note that read, “Please give us our balls back,” and handed it to their younger sister with one simple request.

“Judi, would you just go round and put this through Ms. Lazenby’s door?”

To everyone’s surprise—including perhaps her own—she agreed.

“I did go,” she admitted with a laugh. “I squeezed it through Ms. Lazenby’s door.”

The consequences arrived quickly.

Around an hour and a half later, the neighbor reportedly appeared at the Dench family home, furious about what had happened.

“I don’t think we were allowed to play cricket again,” Judi joked.

A Different Kind of Story Today

While the mischievous tale delighted listeners, Judi also spoke about something much more meaningful—her love of trees and the memories they carry.

The legendary actress revealed that a sapling grown from the famous Sycamore Gap tree is now thriving in her garden and has already grown taller than she is.

She named the young tree Antoninus, after the adopted son of Roman emperor Hadrian, whose famous wall once overlooked the original Sycamore Gap.

Reflecting on the tree’s destruction, Judi described the illegal felling as completely senseless, noting how generations of people had celebrated life’s biggest moments beneath its branches.

Honoring Friends Through Nature

Judi also shared that her garden has become a place of remembrance.

She has planted trees in memory of several close friends who have passed away, including legendary actors Maggie Smith and Michael Gambon.

Having those living tributes nearby, she said, brings her great comfort.

“They are very near me,” Judi explained. “Which is very nice.”

From a mischievous childhood prank involving a dead rat to quietly honoring lifelong friends through the trees in her garden, Dame Judi Dench’s stories reveal the humor, warmth, and humanity that have made her one of Britain’s most beloved actresses for generations.