Star of record-breaking Pride and Prejudice spin-off ‘thought BBC had f***ed it’

Ella Bruccoleri delighted fans in The Other Bennet Sister earlier this year (Picture: BBC/Bad Wolf/James Pardon) For many Jane Austen fans, Elizabeth Bennet has always been their ultimate Pride and Prejudice heroine. But since Ella Bruccoleri starred as the lead in the BBC’s massive hit The Other Bennet Sister, which focused on one of the most overlooked members of the family, preferences have shifted in the Austen fanbase. When The Other Bennet Sister aired in March this year, viewers met Ella’s take on the quirky, previously sidelined middle sibling Mary Bennett. Fresh allegiances were drawn as everyone raved about the charming 10-part drama, which also starred Ruth Jones as Mrs Bennet, Richard E. Grant as Mr Bennet, and Dónal Finn and Laurie Davidson as Mary’s potential suitors. Ella has been working professionally since 2018, popping up in films including Polite Society, Paddington in Peru and Wicker, as well as on TV shows Bridgerton, Down Cemetery Road and playing Sister Frances on Call the Midwife. This, however, was her first named lead role, and it’s led to her inclusion in the 2026 Bafta Breakthrough UK cohort, the organisation’s flagship new talent programme supported by Netflix. It’s also a very special show to her personally, and she welcomes the praise when I tell her how much I and my colleagues loved it. She admits, though, she initially feared the adaptation of the Janice Hadlow’s novel would flop. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Other Bennet Sister was the BBC’s most successful new drama launch since May 2025 (Picture: BBC/Bad Wolf/James Pardon) ‘I remember, even like a week before it came out there hadn’t really been any marketing about it. I was like, “Well, the BBC has f**ked it, they haven’t even advertised it. Obviously no-one’s going to watch it!”,’ she laughs before adding, ‘but they played it so well.’ The BBC dropped the trailer 10 days before its broadcast premiere, with buzz quickly building and Ella inundated with messages. But even still, recalling when she went to leave her house after it first aired, she laughs over catching herself wondering if she should be ‘wearing a cap and sunglasses?’ Maybe she could have, because on that 20-minute stroll she was stopped by three people wanting to talk to her about The Other Bennet Sister. That was the first moment Ella realised the impact ‘TOBS’, as she charmingly calls it, one word, could have. But she didn’t ‘in any way, shape or form’ anticipate the phenomenon it would become. I thought people wouldn’t watch it because it was just a little low-budget BBC show Quote Quote ‘It’s going to sound like I’m trying to be overly self-effacing, but I tend to set the bar really low for how I think something’s going to do. ‘I’ve been part of things in the past that I’ve loved and thought were really good, but they just didn’t get the ratings and hardly anyone saw them. So you just have to be prepared for that. I really thought it would go under the radar, especially because there’s other things coming out, like the other [Netflix] Pride and Prejudice. I just kind of thought people will watch those ones, and they won’t watch ours because it was just a little low-budget BBC show.’ Off the back of TOBS, Ella was named in the 2026 Bafta Breakthrough UK cohort, the organisation’s prestigious new talent programme (Picture: BAFTA/Sane Seven) This is a lesson to us all, to never underestimate the popularity of a BBC Austen adaptation – it’s the BBC behind the beloved 1995 Pride and Prejudice adaptation with Colin Firth’s wet shirt, after all. But she needn’t have worried, as the reception was so rapturous that a three-part Christmas special was rushed into production, continuing the story of Mary and Tom [Dónal Finn] as they adjust to the idea of marriage, giving fans more episodes less than a year later. ‘I’m just hoping that we can match the expectation, because the commission came in really late and then it had to come together so quickly for it to be out for Christmas,’ Ella says, pointing to the immediate availability headache. ‘We’ve got this amazing ensemble, they’re all brilliant actors, and most of them were booked on other jobs. So it was kind of like, how? But the beauty of it was that they all were desperate to do it, no one didn’t want to do it.’ The BBC can be trusted to replicate the wet shirt trick in period dramas, where prudent (Picture: BBC/Bad Wolf/James Pardon) That included Dónal being committed to shooting Young Sherlock for Prime Video, but managing to wrangle seven days off. Eventually, ‘the maddest schedule of all time’ worked out. ‘I just hope that none of that is seen when you’re watching it, that you don’t experience the chaos of how it all came together,’ Ella confesses. She’s also hopeful that, given it goes beyond the scope of author Janice Hadlow’s original novel, it ‘feels authentic to the story’. ‘Because it was suddenly all up for grabs really, as to what we could do with it.’ But with the cast back, alongside screenwriter Sarah Quintrell – who penned nine of the original 10 episodes – and Hadlow providing storylines, it seems a guaranteed smash. Fans will get to see more of Mary and Tom (Dónal Finn) in the Christmas special – and potentially beyond (Picture: BBC/Bad Wolf) And again, the BBC seems confident, having expanded the franchise with the newly announced The Other Elliot Sister, this time following the eldest sister, Elizabeth, of Austen’s Persuasion. That won’t have any more of Mary and Tom, but Ella picks her words carefully over the possibility of their future specifically. ‘There is a world in which we remain within this kind of Christmas special world. I don’t know yet, nothing’s been confirmed. Things have been floated, nothing’s been tied down,’ she reveals, before adding: ‘I think it’s an interesting way of carrying on the story in these mini segments and feeding little morsels without making a full series. So we’ll see what happens.’ [On the pontential for more TOBS] Things have been floated, nothing’s been tied down Quote Quote TOBS and Netflix’s star-studded Pride and Prejudice adaptation, led by Emma Corrin, Jack Lowden and Olivia Colman, will be sharing screens come December, meaning two versions of Mary onscreen, as Hopey Parish makes her professional debut in the role. Ella hasn’t crossed paths with her yet. ‘I don’t have a way of contacting her and I wouldn’t want to be like, “let me tell you…” But I would love to meet her, if the opportunity ever came up that we could chat about our experiences, that would be really nice.’ Ella also recently graced our screens in the the ruanchy fantasy film Wicker (Picture: BAFTA/Sane Seven) The 2026 Bafta Breakthrough UK cohort FILM Hollie Bryan, Producer – The Ceremony Louis Paxton, Writer/Director – The Incomer Lucy Allen*, Casting Directors – Sunny Dancer Imran Perretta, Co-Writer/Director – Ish Regina Meessen, Hair and Make-Up Designer – Dreamers Ted Evans, Writer/Director – Retreat Tom Payne*, Casting Directors – Sunny Dancer DOCUMENTARY / UNSCRIPTED Chris Lynch, Presenter and Producer – In the Driving Seat Myrid Carten, Writer/Director – A Want in Her Runako Celina, Producer and Reporter – Death in Dubai TV Ella Bruccoleri, Performer – The Other Bennet Sister Izuka Hoyle, Performer – Prisoner Philippa Mumford, Production Designer – Juice (Series 2) Sophie Stone, Performer – Falling Tom Cousins, Creator and Executive Producer – Rafi the Wishing Wizard Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Writer – Emmerdale GAMES Eloise Singer, Writer/Director – The Pirate Queen: No Safe Waters Husban Siddiqi, Game Director and Developer – Rogue Eclipse Kate Killick, Creative Director – Pieced Together Niru Fekri-Arnold, Creator/Designer – Cursed Words Tom McKay, Performer – Mysteria Ecclesiae: Kingdom Come Deliverance DLC *applied as a team Jamie Demetriou, who’s Mr Collins in the Netflix version, has told her he deliberately avoided TOBS before filming, to avoid any unwanted influence. ‘But because we’ve done our one, it means I just get to watch that one over Christmas,’ she adds brightly. ‘I think it’ll be tonally so different.’ Ella will also be continuing her quest to become a Jane Austen completist, having previously admitted she hadn’t read any of the novels before being cast as Mary. ‘I read and watched Sense and Sensibility when I finished, now I’ve got Emma waiting for me – so I’m just going to work my way through the catalogue. I mean, there’s not that many, so it’s quite achievable!’ she laughs. ‘But Emma is the one I think I’m really going to like.’ Deals of the Day 14,500 five-star reviews later, this cult sleep spray is discounted for Black Friday The Orlando holiday deal Disney fans shouldn't miss We're adding this discounted NEOM gift set straight to basket Want an LED face mask for less? This Black Friday deal could save you hundreds This teeth whitening sale could save you up to 64% before Black Friday The Other Bennet Sister is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now. It will return for a three-part Christmas special on BBC One over the festive period. 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