30 years on, this iconic BBC adaptation is still extraordinary

1 week ago 2

By Debi Enker

September 30, 2025 — 5.30pm

A smart, spirited heroine determined to marry for love despite pressure to “make a match” that prioritises financial security. A well-born, wealthy bachelor who looks desirable but is also aloof and disapproving. An irresistible attraction between them. It’s a familiar tale, and a persistent one.

Jane Austen created the story of Elizabeth “Lizzy” Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy in her witty and astute 1813 novel, Pride and Prejudice. Its tale of a rocky romance buffeted by tense exchanges and muddled communications, complicated by class differences, has proved timeless and universal. It’s drawn a devoted following, with every era bringing its own variations.

Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

It was first adapted for the screen in 1938 with a 55-minute BBC production and has been remade regularly ever since. There are Bollywood (Bride and Prejudice), gay romcom (Fire Island) and zombie variations (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies). The book is cited by Stephanie Meyer fans as a blueprint for Twilight and by Helen Fielding as inspiration for Bridget Jones’s Diary.

But among the numerous screen adaptations and variations, there’s one version that’s rightly regarded as the classic: the six-part 1995 BBC production, starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this month.

Happily, the series stands the test of time. Many productions that might be fondly remembered, preserved in a rosy nostalgic glow, can be disappointing on a return viewing, but this one retains its considerable charm. It’s still fresh, engaging and energetic, even if, at times, the shooting and editing style might seem a bit static by today’s propulsive standards.

Directed by Simon Langton, with a peppy script by period-adaptation specialist Andrew Davies and a glorious score by Carl Davis, it opens with a buzz of activity as the Bennet family learns of the arrival of a new neighbour.

Starring as Lizzy, the second of the five Bennet daughters, Ehle positively sparkles, whether she’s happily walking alone in the Hertfordshire countryside, reading a book or sparring in conversation.

Colin Firth’s tall, dark and handsome Darcy – a friend of the Bennet’s new neighbour, Charles Bingley (Crispin Bonham-Carter) – positively smoulders, silently tortured by his attraction to a woman whose family and circumstances he deems to be beneath him.

Davies’ script deftly arranges key events into separate episodes. First, there’s the introductory meeting with Bingley and the ball at his palatial home, where Lizzy overhears Darcy dismissing her as not as pretty as her sister, Jane (Susannah Harker): “She’s tolerable, I suppose, but she’s not handsome enough to tempt me.”

Yet the pesky attraction continues to plague him into the second episode, subsequently leading to his grudging marriage proposal, and her angry rejection of it by the end of the third. Then, in the fourth, there’s the famed scene that set hearts fluttering and loins stirring of Darcy emerging from a lake at his stately home.

It looks surprisingly chaste today: alone by the water, he impulsively strips down to his shirt and trousers and dives in as Lizzy, unaware of his proximity, tours his mansion with her aunt and uncle. Yet when they meet unexpectedly after that, the sizzling looks between them could melt butter, powerfully attesting to a desire that can’t be verbally expressed.

Davies couldn’t have anticipated the impact that scene – which doesn’t appear in the novel – involving a fully clothed, dripping wet Darcy would have. It had viewers swooning to the extent that Firth became an international sex symbol and the term “Darcymania” was coined. However, Davies has noted that it was part of the approach that he initially discussed with producer Sue Birtwistle.

“We thought, let’s make it as physical as we can without being ridiculous about it,” he told the BBC in a 2015 reflection on the series. “Let’s remind the audience that this isn’t just a social comedy – it’s about desire and young people and their hormones – and let’s try to find ways of showing that as much as possible … we wanted the guys to be doing lots of physical things: riding horses, fencing, having baths, jumping in the lake. Any legitimate excuse to get some of that kit off.”

Colin Firth in the 1995 BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice.

While much of the action takes place during ostensibly polite conversations in various drawing rooms, Lizzy and Darcy are aligned with nature.

In addition to that swim, he’s frequently seen on horseback and she relishes a good walk. Meanwhile, most of the other women are typically seen indoors, occupied with needlework, playing piano and sipping tea. They might “take a turn” around a parlour when they crave a little exercise.

Lake swims and steamy looks aside, Ehle and Firth aren’t alone in making the production memorable as there’s a strong cast assembled around them. Alison Steadman is in fine fettle as the braying Mrs Bennet, as is Benjamin Whitrow as her quietly observant husband. Bonham-Carter is a bright-eyed and genial Bingley; Adrian Lukis conjures a suitably seductive yet snaky Lt. Wickham; and David Bamber’s unctuous Mr Collins makes the skin crawl.

The Bennet family as seen in the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1813 novel, Pride and Prejudice. Mr and Mrs Bennet, with (L-R) Lydia, Elisabeth, Jane, Mary and Catherine.

It’s interesting to compare this sunny springtime version with Joe Wright’s impressive 2005 film, Pride & Prejudice. That adaptation, starring Keira Knightley (Atonement) and Matthew MacFadyen (Succession), is also graced by a terrific supporting cast but has a darker colour palette; browns, greys and forest greens, and a decidedly autumnal feel.

Darcy’s initial, ill-fated marriage proposal has him outside with Lizzy in pouring rain, drenched, the pair shouting angrily at each other. Wright uses long Steadicam shots, creating more momentum and evoking the impression of a bustling, interconnected community.

Like Ehle, Knightley shines as Lizzy. But while MacFadyen nails Darcy’s intensity and awkwardness, Firth’s smouldering gazes work a lot better at conveying the tortured passion.

His portrayal of Mr Darcy in the Bridget Jones films was a reference to the phenomenon his original Darcy had become, with Fielding being “infatuated” with the BBC series while writing the character in her first novel. Fielding also worked with the BBC series screenwriter, Davies, to pen the first two films.

Now another generation is putting its stamp on the story. A new “faithful, classic” version started shooting in July: a six-part Netflix series written by Millennial agony aunt-turned-author-turned-showrunner Dolly Alderton (Everything I Know About Love).

Emma Corrin (The Crown) is Lizzy, Jack Lowden (Slow Horses) is Darcy, and Olivia Colman and Rufus Sewell have been cast as Mrs and Mr Bennet.

“Once in a generation, a group of people get to retell this wonderful story and I feel very lucky that I get to be a part of it,” Alderton said when announcing the cast.