What We Know So Far About The Other Bennet Sister

Is Pride and Prejudice one of those books that occupies a permanent place on your nightstand? Have you binged watched Andrew Davies’ 1995 adaptation (aka the stand-out masterpiece when it comes to Austen re-telling) so many times that you can recite every word? Then you probably fall into one of two camps: those who are so swept up in the main thrust of the narrative that extraneous characters – those who are not Lizzy, Jane, Darcy, Bingley, Wickham or Mr and Mrs Bennett – fade into the background. Or those who will forever remain hungry for more, longing for the backstories of pretty much every character in what we regard as one of the greatest stories ever told.



Well, good news. BBC One’s upcoming adaptation The Other Bennet Sister promises to change all that.

This Regency retread offers a recentring of Austen’s world through the eyes of Mary Bennet, the plain, bookish middle sister who in the original 1813 novel barely gets a look-in. The ten-episode series, debuting in 2026 on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BritBox (for international audiences), adapts Janice Hadlow’s 2020 novel of the same name – itself a thoughtful expansion of Austen’s supporting cast.

Why Mary?

In Pride and Prejudice Mary is the sibling everyone remembers for dutiful (read: laboured) piano recitals, too much moralising, and a total absence of suitors. Now, she finally steps out of Lizzy’s shadow for her own arc. The series opens in familiar territory at Longbourn but quickly branches out as Mary travels to London and the Lake District in search of independence, purpose and perhaps romantic fulfilment of her own.

Cast and Characters

Ella Bruccoleri leads the series as Mary Bennet, bringing depth and emotional intelligence to a character long sidelined in Pride and Prejudice. This is Mary as a fully realised heroine: thoughtful, observant and quietly determined.

Her parents are played by Ruth Jones and Richard E. Grant. Jones takes on Mrs Bennet, the famously marriage-minded matriarch, while we can expect Grant’s Mr Bennet to offer a dry, nuanced counterpoint – affectionate, ironic, and not entirely blameless in Mary’s long-standing invisibility. Mary’s wider world is set to expand through Mrs and Mr Gardiner, portrayed by Indira Varma and Richard Coyle, who introduce her to life beyond Longbourn and open the door to new experiences in London and beyond.

When Is The Other Bennet Sister Coming?

It’s set to air in 2026, with a ten-episode run on BBC One and BBC iPlayer..
While an exact release date has yet to be confirmed, the BBC has already released first-look material – a clear sign that this radical Austen reimagining is firmly on its way.

Image: BBC/Bad Wolf/James Pardon