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The Other Bennet Sister: Why Austen Readers Should Watch The BBC Hit

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Additional comment from Dr Shelley Galpin, a lecturer in Media, Culture, and Creative Industries at King’s College London.

Adapting a book for a TV show or movie means some readers are sure to be disappointed (take, for instance, Emerald Fennell’s controversial Wuthering Heights).

The BBC’s The Other Bennet Sister is no exception. Focused on Mary, the largely forgotten sibling in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the series takes significant enough liberties with the author’s original work for some readers to dub it “fanfic”.

Personally, I’ve never seen that as much of an insult (what are Clueless or Bridget Jones if not very well-done Austen fan fictions?).

If anything, though it has its flaws, I think The Other Bennet Sister is a fun, highly watchable series that fits as neatly into the book’s premise as a mid-2020s TV show can.

It’s not the best screenwriting, I grant you. But the 1940 Pride and Prejudice film adaptation, which included the lines “At this moment, it’s difficult to believe that you’re so proud.” “At this moment, it’s difficult to believe that you are so prejudiced”, made a (clunky) point.

The book is all about how we see and unfairly judge one another, including as a reader. And speaking to HuffPost UK, media, culture, and creative industries lecturer Dr Shelley Galpin said, “The [BBC] series works well as a development of those ideas”.

Of course, Lizzie misunderstands Mr Darcy and Wickham in turns, and Mr Darcy is unkindly snobbish about the Bennets.

But we know that because Austen explicitly paints the picture for us. Her real art is in making us question the characters the book itself portrays negatively: if Mrs Bennet is so irrational and silly, how come the far better-off Mr Bennet married her – and why do some of her schemes, like sending a rain-sodden Jane off to sneeze over the nearest herd of poshies, kind of work out?

Why didn’t Lizzie, or most readers, trust Charlotte Lucas when she (rightly) said Mr Collins was perfect for many of her needs?

Not to pummel the remains of a long-dead horse further into the ground here, but the book makes us ask: were we proud, or prejudiced, when we read it?

The Other Bennet Sister
The Other Bennet Sister

I was pleased to see that the Richared E. Grant Mr Bennet’s head-in-the-sand approach to raising children is a lot more explicit than in, say, the 2005 film (even if Mrs Bennet, played by Ruth Jones, is more flatly harsh – both Dr Galpin and I felt the speech she gives at the end of the show was not quite enough to redeem her being “such a nightmare” the rest of the time).

Other characters were reframed, too.

“I definitely felt that some of the more irritating or comic character elements were softened a little [in The Other Bennet Sister] – Mary and Mr Collins were both a little less ‘preachy’ and lacking in social awareness than in their original iterations, so I felt that some artistic license was taken with the characterisation, but this is perhaps consistent with the show centring on Mary’s view of the world more,” said Dr Galpin.

“I… liked the slight rehabilitation of Mr Collins, who is, at the end of the day, trying to do the right thing, even if he is far from the ideal romantic hero.”

Mary, whom I always saw as quite similar to the shy, bookish, devout Fanny Price protagonist in Mansfield Park, was well overdue for a similar reinterpetation, though Dr Galpin pointed out that her TV self might be closer to the original novel than I realised.

“It struck me as I watched it that Mary is essentially playing the ‘Lizzie’ role from P&P. In Austen’s novel, Lizzie is supposed to be a little awkward and lacking in social niceties (in comparison to perfect Jane!) and less attractive than her sister.

“She also continually irritates her mother by making supposedly imprudent marriage choices. Mary essentially steps into this persona in the series. The rivalry with Caroline Bingley also echoes Lizzie’s role in the original novel,” she said.

So, when the BBC show depicts Mary as strong-willed, ambitious, self-aware, and bloomingly confident once she reaches London, it’s not a correction of Jane Austen’s book but a natural extension of it.

It makes as much sense as a spin-off TV series as Mr Collins’ (relatively) successful marriage, or Caroline Bingley’s genuinely well-meaning Wickham warning, do in the novel; not what we were led to expect initially, but hey, what sucker doesn’t question their first impression?

That’s Austen, baby – and in my opinion, the witty, touching, and fun BBC adaptation has bottled it perfectly.

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Jenni Murray, Long-Serving Woman’s Hour Presenter, Dies Aged 75

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Dame Jenni Murray, the veteran journalist best known as the longest-serving host of the BBC’s Woman’s Hour, has died at the age of 75.

In a post on the Radio 4 show’s Instagram page on Friday evening, the channel’s controller Mohit Bakaya said: “Jenni Murray was a formidable voice in British broadcasting who was warm, fearless and beloved by listeners.

“During her decades at Woman’s Hour, she helped shape the national conversation with intelligence, rigour and a remarkable ability to connect with audiences. Jenni leaves an indelible legacy on generations of listeners.

“We are profoundly grateful for her outstanding contribution to Radio 4, and she will be deeply missed.”

Dame Jenni began presenting Woman’s Hour in 1987, before officially stepping down more than 30 years later, in October 2020.

Prior to that, she had worked at other flagship BBC shows including Newsnight and Radio 4’s Today Show.

She continued to work in journalism following her Woman’s Hour departure, writing for the likes of the Daily Mail and Saga magazine.

In 2011, she was awarded a damehood by the late Queen Elizabeth II for services to broadcasting.

The BBC’s outgoing director-general Tim Davie also paid his respects on Friday, saying: “This is incredibly sad news and our thoughts are with all of Dame Jenni’s family and friends. Dame Jenni was, simply put, a broadcasting icon.

“Throughout her three groundbreaking decades on Woman’s Hour, Jenni created a safe space for her audience thanks to her warmth, intelligence and courage.

“We shall all miss her terribly. Her legacy endures in the countless conversations she started, the many issues she championed and the lives she touched.”

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Reform’s Zia Yusuf Sparks Strong Response After Clash With BBC Question Time Audience Member

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Reform’s head of policy Zia Yusuf startled BBC Question Time audience members on Thursday with his curt response to a question.

During an immigration special, one member of the crowd took issue with the anti-immigration party’s claim that there are enough people in the UK to “not need foreign doctors”.

The man in the audience said: “I joined the NHS as a student in 1974. We’ve been totally reliant on doctors from Asia initially, and the care sector is totally dependent on care workers from abroad, despite nine million people not being in work.”

He said population growth and a shortage of funds for hospitals has gone down, telling Yusuf: “So you’re conflating lots of different things to make your argument.”

He pointed out that Reform has promised migrant workers will lose their indefinite leave to remain if they get into government.

“So if you’ve worked as a care worker in nursing home for 40 years, you are already since last year not allowed to bring your children over,” the man said.

“When you get to 65, you’ll be sent back to where you came from, is that what you’re suggesting?”

Yusuf said: “No. It’s not at all. And if you’d paid attention to what we are announcing, you would not have that view.”

A surprised “ooh” went around the hall at that response, but Yusuf continued: “My mother is a care home worker –”

Migration minister Mike Tapp then chimed in: “Typically rude. Be polite to people at the same time. They’re not decent, that’s the problem.”

Yusuf ignored the response to his tone and said Reform have announced they will have an “acute skills shortage visa specifically for sectors like the care home sector”.

The Reform representative also hit out at the show later, criticising the BBC for supposedly “planting” small boat migrants in the audience.

Yusuf told GB News: “How on earth it should be deemed appropriate that people who have broken into this country illegally should have a seat at the table in a discussion about illegal immigration… it is bewildering.”

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Farage Demands Apology From BBC For ‘Double Standards’ Over Racism Claims In Furious Rant

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Nigel Farage called for an apology from the BBC during a furious outburst at a press conference today.

BBC Radio 4′s Today co-host Emma Barnett also clashed with Reform deputy, Richard Tice, over what she called Farage’s “relationship” with Adolf Hitler on Thursday morning.

Responding to that interview, and the ongoing racism allegations, Farage told a BBC reporter: “I thought this morning’s performance by one of your lower-grade presenters [Emma Barnett] on the Today programme was utterly disgraceful.

“I think, to frame a question around the leader of Reform’s ‘relationship’ with Hitler, which is how she framed it, was despicable, disgusting beyond belief.

“Are you surprised that half a million people every year refuse to pay the licence fee?”

He continued: “The double standards and hypocrisy of the BBC are absolutely astonishing. The time I was alleged to have made these remarks, one of your most popular weekly shows was the ’Black and White Ministrel [Show].’”

This programme ran from 1958 to 1978 and was accused of using out-dated stereotypes towards the second half of its 20-year run.

He said: “I cannot put up with the double standards of the BBC about what I’m alleged to have said 49 years ago, and what you were putting out on mainstream content.

“So I want an apology from the BBC for virtually everything you did throughout the 1970s and 80s.”

He also claimed he had received many letters from former school peers from his time at Dulwich College, and read one out during the press conference.

The contemporary, who was not named, supposedly said Farage had just used “schoolboy banter”, which was occasionally offensive but “never with malice”.

When the BBC reporter tried to circle back to his original question about the accuracy of the claims against him, Farage just moved on to a different press question.

He told the reporter: “Until you apologise for all of your [BBC] output, your appalling output at the same that I’m accused of saying these things that I deny – I’m not speaking to you.”

Asked if he was going to sue Barnett over defamation, he said such legal claims take up a lot of “emotional and legal capital”.

Listen to Barnett’s full exchange with Tice here:

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Emma Barnett: Do you think saying to a Jewish person that Hitler was right is direct racial abuse?

Richard Tice(Reform MP): Yes… I can’t believe anybody would have say that

EB: Including your leader?

RT: Yes… This is all made up twaddle… #r4today pic.twitter.com/ikNb4u7w5z

— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) December 4, 2025

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Richard Tice(Reform MP): Yes… I can’t believe anybody would have say thatEB: Including your leader?RT: Yes… This is all made up twaddle… #r4today pic.twitter.com/ikNb4u7w5z— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) December 4, 2025\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1996506508822003712/pu/img/AM579Lm1EK_jrCyQ.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1152,"title":"Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 on Twitter / 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Emma Barnett: Do you think saying to a Jewish person that Hitler was right is direct racial abuse?

Richard Tice(Reform MP): Yes… I can’t believe anybody would have say that

EB: Including your leader?

RT: Yes… This is all made up twaddle… #r4today pic.twitter.com/ikNb4u7w5z

— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) December 4, 2025

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