DAME JUDI DENCH was forced to make an emergency visit to the dentist wearing a period costume after damaging a tooth while filming a U.K. TV show.

The veteran British actress was acting in scenes for a Christmas special of BBC drama Cranford when she lost a crown and had to rush to the dental practice - dressed in 1840s clothing.

She says, “There wasn’t time for me to change. So I was in my wig and bonnet and all my clothes. I went into the waiting room and everyone kept looking. When I got in to see the dentist, he said, ‘Are you busy working?’ I was wearing a full wig with curls.”