Gillian Anderson said she was "fascinated" to meet the Queen and Duke Of Edinburgh at an event at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the life of Charles Dickens.

The former X-Files star was joined by a host of other faces from TV and film at the reception, which was also attended by members of Dickens' family.

Anderson, who recently brought the character of jilted bride Miss Havisham to life in a BBC adaptation of Great Expectations, said: "I would love to be able to walk around and have a conversation with everybody here. I am absolutely fascinated to be here and to meet the Queen."

The actress, who also played Lady Dedlock in the 2005 BBC production of Bleak House, said she was unsure which Dickens character she would play next.

She said: "I don't really think of them in that way. Although I might have read things in my earlier life, I immediately forget, but then I also think that it's important when you're reading a script to have a reaction to it.

"I really liked the (Great Expectations) adaptation, there was a lot of poetry to Miss Havisham. Part of what drew me to her was her range of emotionality."

Also at the reception was My Week With Marilyn star Eddie Redmayne, who earlier performed for the royal couple in a specially written piece featuring some of Dickens' most popular characters.

He said: "It was a huge amount of fun actually. It was a really great production by Philip Frank."

Redmayne, who said one of his first acting roles was playing one of the workhouse boys in a stage production of Oliver Twist, said it was "extraordinary" to be at the palace to mark the bicentenary of the birth of the author.

He added: "I have read several of his novels but did have to do a bit of swotting up. I was a bit embarrassed by my lack of Dickens knowledge."