Judi Dench her role in "The Winter's Tale", breaking her own record with her eighth win as a performer. Next, she co-starred as Cecily Neville, Duchess of York to Benedict Cumberbatch's Richard III in the second series of the BBC Two historical series "The Hollow Crown". The same year, she was cast alongside Eva Green and Asa Butterfield in Tim Burton's dark fantasy film "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children". Dench played Miss Esmeralda Avocet, a headmistress who can manipulate time and can transform into a bird. The film garnered mixed reviews from critics, who felt it was "on stronger footing as
Judi Dench worldwide, exceeding its £15 million budget. In his review for "Chicago Sun-Times", film critic Roger Ebert declared the main actresses "perhaps the most impressive acting duo in any film of 2006. Dench and Blanchett are magnificent." The following year, Dench earned her sixth Academy nomination and went on to win a BIFA Award and an Evening Standard Award. Dench, as Miss Matty Jenkyns, co-starred with Eileen Atkins, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, and Francesca Annis in the BBC One five-part series "Cranford". The first season of the series began transmission in November 2007. Dench became the voice for the narration for