Cranford actress Dame Eileen Akins has confirmed she's to appear alongside Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett in the new Ridley Scott-directed film Robin Hood. The 74-year-old stage and screen actress will play the part of Queen Eleanor of Acquitane.

Dame Eileen told a British newspaper she was excited about working with Russell, who takes the title role of the film. "There's no vanity about him, which I like," she says.

The one thing she's not looking forward to, though, is shooting a scene in which an owl lands on her arm. "I'm completely bird phobic," the London-born star tells the Daily Express. "It's the same owl that appeared in Harry Potter and apparently it weighs as much as a dog."