BBC is rebooting Pride and Prejudice, but not with the Jane Austen character I was expecting

Pride and Prejudice Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

The BBC has commissioned a brand-new Pride and Prejudice spin-off called The Other Bennet Sister.

However, the new ten-part series won't focus on Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. This time the drama will have one of Jane Austen’s most unassuming characters at its heart - Elizabeth's sister, Mary Bennet. 

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Mary is the middle of the five Bennet girls and the plainest of them all. The seemingly unremarkable and overlooked middle sister will take centre stage in this new drama, shining a new light on the character and showing that when it comes to the Bennet sisters - while we dream of being Lizzy, in reality, most of us are more like Mary.

A BBC announcement says: "Unlike her sisters, Mary isn’t your typical period drama heroine. She is awkward, anxious, preachy, full of facts, a terrible singer… overlooked by her mother, and seemingly destined to an empty dance card for the rest of her life… until Mary takes matters into her own hands.

"The Other Bennet Sister gives Mary Bennet the epic love story nobody predicted for her, taking her from her family home in Meryton to the soirees of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District - all in search of independence, romance and, most elusive of all, self-love and acceptance."

Sarah Quintrell has adapted Janice Hadlow's novel for the BBC.  (Image credit: Getty Images)

The new drama, which will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer and is based on the book 'The Other Bennet Sister' by Janice Hadlow, will be written for screen by Sarah Quintrell, the screenwriter behind The Power.

Sarah says: "I’m thrilled to be telling the story of Mary - the other Bennet sister - exploring what it is to come of age when you’re the odd one out.

"It’s a joy to be adapting Janice Hadlow’s brilliant take on such a beloved classic with the team at Bad Wolf and to have found our home at the BBC. I grew up (an awkward, anxious teen, getting everything wrong...) watching the BBC's wonderful Austen adaptations. It’s the stuff every writer dreams of and I can’t wait to bring this beautiful story to screen - not least, for all the Marys out there."

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, added: "The BBC's Pride and Prejudice will forever be a classic moment in television history, and it's incredibly exciting to return to Jane Austen's irresistible world and go even further than before - this time in the footsteps of the other Bennet sister, Mary."