Oscar-winner Dame Judi Dench has vowed never to retire from acting, saying her career on stage and screen is “like everlasting school”.

The actress told Good Housekeeping that she enjoyed the “whole discipline of learning”.

She said: “It’s a learning curve all of the time. I think that’s very, very good for you and very important; it’s like everlasting school, in a way.”

Dame Judi said she hated being called “a national treasure”, adding: “A national treasure is something that never changes and is sitting there behind glass.”

The actress, who co-owns a racehorse with her driver, admitted she could not “resist having a flutter”.

She said: “He’s driven me for so many years and his passion is racing so I thought ‘Well, why not have a horse together?’. It won the Lincoln, the Brigadier Gerard and the other day he won over the hurdles for the first time. I don’t often get to the races but I go and visit him in Newmarket. I love it.”

The York-born star won an Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in the film Shakespeare In Love.