Witherspoon intimidated by Dench

Reese Witherspoon has confessed she was "extremely intimidated" by Dame Judi Dench during the filming of The Importance Of Being Earnest.

But she said when she finally got to know Dame Judi she had found her "incredibly giving and bright".

Dame Judi stars as Lady Bracknell in the new film which opens in the US on May 22 and is due to hit Irish screens in the summer.

"I was nervous, shaking in my boots, terrified to say anything above a whisper in front of her," 26-year-old Witherspoon said at the film's world premiere in New York.