Dame Judi Dench and Sharleen Spiteri join together to sing a rendition of ABBA’s Waterloo

Dame Judi Dench and Sharleen Spiteri joined forces on Saturday for an impromptu New Year’s Eve performance at an Aberdeenshire hotel.

The veteran actress, 88, and the Scottish singer, 55, duetted a rendition of Waterloo by ABBA at The Fife Arms in Braemar.

In a video shared on Twitter, Sharleen can be seen belting out the chorus while Dame Judi convincingly pretends to play a self-playing piano.

The Oscar winner then joins in with backing vocals, while Sharleen jokingly declares: ‘What a pianist!’

The two ladies both sported coordinating black ensembles, with Texas frontwoman Sharleen donning a tartan sash, as they sit back-to-back on a piano stool.

Ewan Venters, CEO of Artfarm which owns The Fife Arms, was the one to post the video to social media, where it racked up the views.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, he described the crowd’s reaction to the performance as ‘joyful’.

Impromptu: The veteran actress, 88, and the Scottish singer, 55, duetted a rendition of Waterloo by ABBA at The Fife Arms in Braemar

He said: ‘Judi Dench and Sharleen Spiteri were staying at the hotel and we had an impromptu moment at the piano.

‘It was a happy evening with lots of guests and locals clapping.’

He said the pair burst into song just before the midnight fireworks, adding: ‘It was a classic Scottish Hogmanay party at The Fife Arms.

‘The hotel was fully sold out, with four course dinner and a ceilidh with lots of reeling.’

Impressive: In a video shared on Twitter, Sharleen can be seen belting out the chorus while Dame Judi convincingly pretends to play a self-playing piano

The fun-filled performance comes after Dame Judi said she ‘dotes’ on Jay Blades after he helped fix her late husband Michael Williams’ watch on the The Repair Shop. 

The James Bond star had the sentimental item mended and engraved with Michael’s initials as part of a special live session of the BBC One show held at the Edinburgh TV Festival earlier this year to mark the programme’s fifth anniversary.

In conversation with Gyles Brandreth during a Christmas edition of I Remember It Well at London’s Garrick Theatre, Dame Judi said of the show according to the Mirror: ‘I do watch it. I dote on Jay Blades. What are Jay’s qualities? Have you got a week or two? We are huge fans of The Repair Shop.’

Delighted: The fun-filled performance comes after Dame Judi said she ‘dotes’ on Jay Blades after he helped fix her late husband Michael Williams’ watch on the The Repair Shop

She added: ‘I can’t resist seeing people making things and I like mending things to the state that people recognise that it is theirs. So it does not look brand new but the state when they first had it.’

During the live version of The Repair Shop this summer, Dame Judi told furniture restorer and programme host Jay, 52, that she had given Michael the watch while they were starring in a play together and that he had used it during the production.

She said that afterwards he carried it in his pocket and ‘treasured it’ before he died from lung cancer in 2001 at the age of 65, after they had been married for just under 30 years.  

Looking back: Michael died from lung cancer in 2001 at the age of 65 after they had been married for just under 30 years (pictured in 2000)

A clip showed horologist Steve Fletcher dismantling the watch so he could thoroughly clean it and repair its mechanisms.

As Dame Judi was presented with the repaired watch live on stage at the TV festival, she appeared emotional and described the work as ‘sublime’ as she held it to her ear to listen to it ticking again after many years of silence.  

The team also pointed out that they had engraved her husband’s initials on the back of the watch for her, to which she replied: ‘Oh my word, that is more than I could possibly hope for. Thank you so much.’

Fixed: The veteran actress had the sentimental item mended and engraved with Michael’s initials as part of a live session of the show held at the Edinburgh TV Festival earlier this year (L-R: Dame Judi is seen with Jay and horologist Steve Fletcher)

She added that she was ‘full of admiration’ for the work they do and is an avid viewer of the show.

Asked what she intended to do with the watch, she said she’d like to pass it on to her daughter Finty or grandson Stanley.

Dame Judi and her late husband Michael became household names by appearing together in the hit ITV sitcom A Fine Romance, about the on-off relationship between Mike and Laura, an unlikely pair of middle-aged singletons brought together by Laura’s matchmaker sister, played by Susan Penhaligon.  

The show ran for 26 episodes over four series between 1981 and 1984, attracting millions of viewers on Sunday nights.

Dame Judi described her late husband as ‘wonderful’ and said it would be ‘lovely’ if she could hear the pocket watch work again as a reminder of the times they shared.

RIP: Dame Judi described her late husband as ‘wonderful’ and said it would be ‘lovely’ if she could hear the pocket watch work again as a reminder of the times they shared (pictured in 2000)