Jane Austen on UK TV
The 19th century English fiction of Jane Austen returns to UK TV early in 2007
Dec 17, 2006
In ITV’s screen adaptation of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, Dr Who star, Billie Piper takes the lead, as impoverished heroine Fanny Price.
Persuasion and Northanger Abbey follow with Sally Hawkins as Anne Elliot and Archers’ star Felicity Jones as Catherine Morland. ITV drama boss Nick Elliott said: "Viewers love Jane Austen. Her stories always make great TV drama and our Jane Austen season features the absolute cream of British acting talent. This is such an exciting prospect."
Billie Piper has come a long way from pop star and celebrity wife of Chris Evans to acting success in the BBC dramas, The Canterbury Tales and Doctor Who. In the novel, she portrays Fanny Price, a shy and reserved girl, who has a surprisingly powerful effect on the wealthy family she lives with.
Sally Hawkins, who starred as Zena Blake in the BBC drama Tipping the Velvet, will play Anne Elliot in Jane Austen’s Persuasion, a heartrending portrayal of loyalty and lost love. The drama will be filmed on the Cobb at Lyme Regis, taking advantage of the stunning location in which it was set. The screenplay was written by Simon Burke, it is being produced by David Snodin and directed by Adrian Shergold.
Northanger Abbey stars Felicity Jones, of the long running BBC radio drama, The Archers. This light satire of the gothic novel, so popular in Regency England, shows Jane Austen’s keen awareness of literary fashion. Her wit, intelligence and insight ensure her place on our bookshelves, cinema and television screens, while the novels she mocks have disappeared.
Recent screen recreations of Jane Austen’s English fiction include Andrew Davies’ 1995 production of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle and Joe Wright’s film starring Keira Knightley and Mathew McFadyen. Emma Thompson won an Oscar for her film of Sense and Sensibility in 1995.
