Watch Judi Dench join her grandson on TikTok in heartwarming reels

One of the many joys of having grandchildren and forging close relationships with them is that they give their grandparents license to act like a kid again. That, in a nutshell, is how Dame Judi Dench, Oscar and Tony award-winning icon of stage and screen, came to be an unlikely TikTok sensation.

One of the many highlights of Sam Williams’ TikTok account (@sam.williams1) is that you can occasionally find his famous grandmother on it, participating in pop culture quizzes and performing viral dance moves. Here’s the proof:

Yep, that’s Judi Dench between her grandson, Sam Williams, and her daughter Finty Williams, shaking her hips to “Laxed (Siren Beat)” by New Zealand music producer Jawsh 685. This was back in 2020 when that dance had just gone viral and everyone had time to learn it due to COVID lockdowns.

The Dench kids apparently were no exception. “When Bojo lets you film a family TikTok” reads the caption for the video. Bojo is likely a reference to then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who instituted stay-at-home orders that year.

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This was the same year that Sam moved in with his grandmother. Now 89, Dench was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration in 2012. It’s a condition that has made it increasingly difficult for the actor to see, and her grandson has been happy to lend a hand.

Her new housemate turned out to be a “very strict” director, as Dench told the British hosts of “This Morning,” Daily Mail reports, roping her into dance performances and lovingly testing his grandmother’s patience. Here’s Sam keeping Dame Judi up to date on lyrics to the latest pop songs, sort of:

The two have bonded over the videos and their time together, and Sam even got to be Dench’s “date” to the Academy Awards in 2022. It all goes to show that you’re never too old to take up a new hobby.