The three-part drama series stars Anna Maxwell Martin (The Bletchley Circle) as Elizabeth Bennett, Matthew Rhys (Brothers and Sisters) as Fitzwilliam Darcy, Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who) as Lydia Wickham and Matthew Goode (Dancing on the Edge) as George Wickham.

The cast also includes Trevor Eve (Waking The Dead) as Sir Selwyn Hardcastle Rebecca Front (The Thick of It) will play Mrs Bennett, James Fleet (The Vicar of Dibley) as Mr Bennett, Penelope Keith (To The Manor Born) as Lady Catherine de Burgh, Joanna Scanlan (Stella) as Mrs Reynolds, Tom Ward (Silent Witness) as Colonel Fitzwilliam, Eleanor Tomlinson (The White Queen) as Georgiana Darcy and James Norton (Doctor Who) as Mr Alveston.

 

Episode 1

Thursday 26 December 2013, 8.15pm

It’s the eve of the Darcy’s annual Lady Anne ball at their magnificent Pemberley home. It’s been six years since Elizabeth and Darcy married and they now have a young son, Fitzwilliam, 3. They are happier than ever and Elizabeth’s caring nature sees her suited to her role as lady of the house.

Elizabeth finds the time to visit the Bidwell family before the guests arrive. Mr Bidwell is head coachman at Pemberley and the rest of his family work for the Darcys too, but his son Will is dying and Elizabeth goes to visit him, reaching out to the family in their time of suffering.

The first of their guests arrive the evening before the ball, including Mrs Bennet, who is complaining about the journey to the long-suffering Mr Bennet. Georgiana Darcy has two suitors vying for her affections: her emotionally distant cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam who, stepping up to the duties of heir, has marriage in mind; and Alveston, a dynamic young lawyer who clearly has Georgiana’s heart.

The party are relaxing after supper when the festivities are brought to an abrupt halt. A scream calls them to the window and a hysterical Lydia Bennet tumbles out of a carriage screaming murder. What follows is the sombre discovery of a dead man in Pemberley woods, with George Wickham – Lydia’s husband and Darcy’s brother in law – found at the scene covered in the dead man’s blood. So begins a nightmare and mounting scandal which will threaten to engulf Pemberley and all that the Darcys hold dear.

 

Episode 2

Friday 27 December 2013, 9pm

After Wickham is taken into custody in the early hours, Elizabeth and Darcy gather their staff to tell them of the night’s events and that the ball is cancelled. Elizabeth reassures everyone that all will be well but it’s becoming clear that Darcy feels that everything is very far from well and he starts to retreat from his wife as he seeks to protect them all against the scandal.

Elizabeth’s sister Jane arrives to wrangle the hysterical Lydia and Mrs Bennet and to support Elizabeth. On a visit to the Bidwell cottage, Elizabeth and Jane glimpse Bidwell’s daughter, Louisa, breastfeeding her sister’s baby and Elizabeth realizes that the child is in fact Louisa’s.

Elizabeth confides in Jane her fears for her marriage as Darcy retreats into a version of his younger self. Most disconcerting to her is his belief that Georgiana should now marry for duty and not for love. Jane takes Lydia and Mrs Bennet to her home at Highmarten to give Elizabeth and Darcy some respite.

Wickham’s inquest is scheduled and Darcy travels to town for the hearing, but Elizabeth finds herself preoccupied with equally pressing matters at home when Louisa Bidwell confides a secret to Elizabeth which will have far reaching consequences for them all.

 

Episode 3

Saturday 28 December 2013, 9pm

Following the inquest at which Wickham is found to be guilty of Captain Denny’s murder, his trial in Derby is now imminent. The strain of recent events has taken its toll on all at Pemberley.

Darcy is increasingly preoccupied with the advancing trial and his part in coercing Georgiana to marry for duty has driven a wedge between he and Elizabeth.

Meanwhile Wickham’s indiscretions and secrets are set to be revealed in court and Elizabeth must break the news to Lydia before she hears it second hand. Meanwhile Darcy worries that Wickham’s character flaws amount to a motive for the murder and this presents a dilemma about how he should handle the information at trial.

As the trial progresses, revelations come thick and fast. Darcy learns of Colonel Fitzwilliam’s involvement in Wickham’s affairs. Darcy is furious with Fitz and with himself as he realizes that his preoccupation with trying to save the reputation of Pemberley has threatened that which matters to him most – his family. Darcy reaches out to his sister and to Elizabeth and they face the outcome of the trial, united once more.

The trial draws to a close and Wickham’s fate looks sealed until a last minute turn of events; but will it be enough to save Wickham from death by hanging…

 

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