New BBC period drama The Other Bennet Sister is now available on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Starring Ella Bruccoleri, Richard E. Grant and Ruth Jones, the 10-part series is based on Janice Hadlow’s best-selling 2020 novel of the same name, and brings Mary Bennet – the oft-overlooked middle sister in Pride and Prejudice – into the spotlight.
Produced by Bad Wolf for the BBC, The Other Bennet Sister was predominantly filmed across Wales, but our Film Office team was pleased to assist the production last Summer by serving up some of Bristol’s most beautiful Regency locations for the drama’s additional filming needs.
In the series, Mary leaves the family home at Longbourn behind and travels to London to live with her aunt and uncle, Mr and Mrs Gardiner. There, she begins a journey of self-discovery, stepping out of the shadows and into her own story.
Bristol’s Orchard Street (pictured above) doubled for Cheapside, the historic streets near St Paul’s Cathedral where Mary’s aunt and uncle live. Orchard Street’s row of beautifully preserved Georgian properties, originally built in the late 18th Century as merchants’ houses, provided the ideal setting for Regency London.
Berkeley Square in Clifton was also used for several outdoor scenes; again, its stunning Georgian architecture suited the Austen period requirements perfectly. Other areas that hosted filming include Frog Lane and Brandon Hill.
The Other Bennet Sister begins at Longbourn, where the Bennet family’s five unmarried daughters navigate the rigid expectations of Regency society. Mary Bennet (Ella Bruccoleri) embarks upon a journey that sees her leave her family home for the soirées of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love, and reinvention – finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way.
Alongside Bruccoleri, the cast includes Richard E. Grant and Ruth Jones as Mr and Mrs Bennet, Indira Varma and Richard Coyle as Mr and Mrs Gardiner, and Laurie Davidson and Dónal Finn as Mary’s potential suitors, Mr Ryder and Mr Hayward. The ensemble also features familiar Pride and Prejudice characters including Caroline Bingley, Charlotte Lucas and Mr Collins, alongside new faces introduced in Mary’s expanding world.
The Other Bennet Sister is directed by Jennifer Sheridan (Extraordinary) and Asim Abbasi (Cake). Sarah Quintrell (The Power, Ellen) wrote nine of the ten half-hour episodes, with Maddie Dai (We Were Dangerous) writing one episode. It is produced by Bad Wolf (His Dark Materials, Industry) for the BBC iPlayer and BBC One, in a co-production with BritBox, which will also air the series in the US and Canada in 2026.
The first five five episodes of The Other Bennet Sister are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer, and the remaining five will be added this Sunday 29th March.
(All images courtesy BBC/Bad Wolf/JamesPardon)