Doctor Who’s Varada Sethu appears alongside Richard E. Grant, Ruth Jones and Indira Varma. 

The BBC have announced the start of filming on The Other Bennet Sister.

The series, from screenwriter Sarah Quintrell, adapts Janice Hadlow’s 2020 novel which expands the world of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Richard E. Grant (Withnail & I) and Ruth Jones (Gavin & Stacey) co-star in the show as Mr and Mrs Bennet, with Ella Bruccoleri (Bridgerton) as Mary Bennet.

Indira Varma (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Richard Coyle (Then You Run) join them as Mr and Mrs Gardiner, Mary’s worldly aunt and uncle. Laurie Davidson (The Girlfriend) and Dónal Finn (SAS Rogue Heroes) also play Mr. Ryder and Mr. Hayward, respectively.

New characters to the Pride and Prejudice world include Varada Sethu (Doctor Who) as Ann Baxter, and Aaron Gill as John Sparrow.

Viewers will return to Longbourn House to meet the iconic Bennet sisters:

Jane  – Maddie Close (Sunflower Child), Lizzie – Poppy Gilbert (Chloe), Kitty – Molly Wright (The A Word) and Lydia – Grace Hogg-Robinson (COBRA).

Other familiar Austen characters include:

Caroline Bingley – Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education), Charlotte Lucas  – Anna Fenton-Garvey (The Nevers) and Mr Collins – Ryan Sampson (Brassic).

Here’s what the BBC say about the 10-part series…

The Gardiners take Mary under their wing as governess to their three children – Marianne (Roisin Bhalla), George (Reggie Absolom), and Rebecca (Jasmine Sharp) – introducing her to an exciting new social world that includes Mr Hayward, Mr Ryder, and Ann Baxter.

This adaptation explores and expands the world of Pride and Prejudice through the often-overlooked perspective of Mary Bennet, Sarah Quintrell (The Power, Ellen) will write nine of the ten half-hour episodes, with Maddie Dai (We Were Dangerous) writing one episode. 

The Other Bennet Sister comes from producers Bad Wolf and is filming in Wales. The series directors are Jennifer Sheridan (Extraordinary) and Asim Abbasi (Cake). In the UK, it will be on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. In the US and Canada, it will be on BritBox.