Waiting to speak to Judi Dench is a bit like anticipating an audience with the Queen, writes Kate Whiting.

So when I'm finally ushered into the presence of acting royalty, I'm immediately concerned to hear the great Dame coughing.

The flu, m'lady? "No, just a bit of a cough," she says. "We were filming (the new James Bond film) Skyfall yesterday and it was very, very cold. It'll only last today and then it will be away," she adds, smiling.

Medical matters resolved, we move to the business in hand: her new film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Director John Madden has gathered together a dream team of venerable British stars, including Dame Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie and Tom Wilkinson, for this comedy drama about a group of retired Brits heading for a new life in India.

As Evelyn, a recent widow whose husband has left her with mountains of debt, Dench has perhaps the greatest "journey" to contend with, as she learns to become financially and emotionally independent.

Embracing the internet, she finds details online of a hotel for the "elderly and beautiful" in Jaipur, run by ambitious manager Sonny (Dev Patel). Evelyn's blogs serve as the film's narrative.

For Dench, the opportunity to work with Madden again (after her Oscar-winning turn in Shakespeare In Love and the Oscar-nominated Mrs Brown) had immediate appeal, not to mention the chance to visit India for the first time.

"I can't wait to go back." she says. "Like my character, I became infatuated by it. Incredibly charming people, the crew couldn't have been more colourful, wonderful, welcoming and funny."

She even attended a royal wedding in the hotel where the cast were staying.

"We weren't invited, but there were rehearsals, with elephants and white horses, so we stood on a balcony to watch. Everybody started to arrive and all the women came up to the balcony with us, and the men were in this great procession.

The cast were invited to join the wedding party for a cup of tea: "We said 'we're not dressed properly' but they said it didn't matter at all."

At 77, and still in demand, is she at all tempted to run away to India and retire like Evelyn?

"No, but I'm very tempted to go back. I hope the film is a very strong advert for India, because it should be."

See The Week tomorrow for our review of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.