Jane Bennet (MADDIE CLOSE), Lizzie Bennet (POPPY GILBERT), Mary Bennet (ELLA BRUCCOLERI), Kitty Bennet (MOLLY WRIGHT) and Lydia Bennet (GRACE HOGG-ROBINSON). Credit: BBC/Bad Wolf/James Pardon
The BBC has unveiled the first images from its upcoming drama The Other Bennet Sister, a fresh take on the world of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
With the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth on the horizon in December 2025, the timing couldn’t be better for this adaptation of Janice Hadlow’s novel, which follows the journey of Mary Bennet – the studious middle sibling of the famous Bennet family.
Ella Bruccoleri steps into the role of Mary, alongside Richard E Grant and Ruth Jones as Mr and Mrs Bennet.
The cast also includes Indira Varma and Richard Coyle as Mr and Mrs Gardiner, with Laurie Davidson and Dónal Finn starring as Mary’s possible suitors.
Filmed on location in Wales, the ten-episode series is set for release on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in 2026. BritBox will stream the series in the US and Canada in the same year.
This time, we’re reintroduced to Longbourn, where five unmarried sisters try to navigate love, ambition and societal expectations in Regency England.
While her sisters chase romance and status, Mary takes a different route, leaving for London to live with her uncle and aunt, Mr and Mrs Gardiner, on Gracechurch Street.
It’s here that Mary forges her own identity and story, offering a different perspective on an era familiar to Austen fans.
Janice Hadlow, the author of the source novel, is excited about the adaptation, saying, “It’s very exciting to think that Mary Bennet will soon be coming to our screens, taking centre stage at last in the story Jane Austen never gave her, played with such feeling by the wonderful Ella Bruccoleri, in the company of a brilliantly empathic cast who bring the whole drama gloriously and poignantly to life.”
