MINNEAPOLIS -- Eileen Atkins hates to fly, but there's one mile-high trip she's glad she braved. The veteran British actress visited Los Angeles in 2008 to promote her role in the miniseries "Cranford," which would lead to an Emmy win. On the all-night flight back to London, publicists paired her with "Cranford" writer Heidi Thomas so that "we couldn't bore anybody else to death," she said.
It was during that journey that Thomas suggested a return to a much-heralded series that Atkins co-created 40 years ago with gal pal Jean Marsh, riveting audiences on both sides of the pond.
