Dame Judi Dench has joined the cast of Tom Hooper's upcoming movie adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats along with Idris Elba according to sources today.

Judi Dench laid up in hospital in 1981 after withdrawing from Cats

Numerous sources today have announced that Dame Judi Dench has signed on to Tom Hooper's upcoming film adaptation of the musical Cats.

Judi is set to play a gender-swapped Old Dueteronomy in the upcoming production which already has a star-studded cast including Sir Ian McKellen, Jennifewr Hudson, James Corden and Taylor Swift. It is also reported today that Idris Elba will join the cast of the movie adaptation.

For Cats fans, the casting of Judi Dench will seem all the more significant due to her original involvement with the original London stage production. Originally cast as Grizabella the Glamour Cat, Dench had to withdraw in the middle of previews when she snapped her achilles tendon in rehearsals, leading to Elaine Paige stepping into the role.

With a script co-written by Lee Hall and Tom Hooper (who also directs), the film is being produced by Tom Hooper and Working Title Films's Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Debra Hayward. The movies executive producers are Andrew Lloyd Webber, Steven Spielberg and Angela Morrison.

Cats opened at the New London Theatre (Now renamed the Gillian Lynne after the show's legendary choreographer) in 1981 where it played for 21 years notching up almost 9000 performances, a feat it almost equalled on Broiadway where it ran for 18 years winning seven Tony Awards including Best Musical.

Read our article on the initial casting for the film adaptation of Cats.