Judi Dench novel "Esio Trot" (1990), in which a retired bachelor falls in love with his widowed neighbour, played by Dench, who keeps a tortoise as a companion after the death of her husband, First broadcast on BBC One on New Year's Day 2015, it became one of the most-watched programmes of the week, and earned Dench her first Best Actress nomination at the 2016 International Emmy Awards. On her performance, "Telegraph"s Michael Hogan commented: "We've grown accustomed to seeing Dench in forbidding roles, but here, she recalled her footloose, flirtatious side, displayed in sitcoms as "A Fine Romance" and "As Time
Roald Dahl 2003 four books by Dahl, led by "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" at number 35, ranked among the Top 100 in "The Big Read", a survey of the British public by the BBC to determine the "nation's best-loved novel" of all time. In surveys of UK teachers, parents and students, Dahl is frequently ranked the best children's writer. In a 2006 list for the Royal Society of Literature, Harry Potter creator J. K. Rowling named "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" one of her top ten books every child should read. In 2012, "Matilda" was ranked number 30 among all-time best