C&TH Meets The BBC’s ‘Other Bennet Sister’, Ella Bruccoleri

Last year may have been the 250th anniversary of her birth, but Austen fever is far from waning. As Netflix works on a new version of Pride and Prejudice by Dolly Alderton, the BBC is delving into a lesser-known Bennet sister. 

Based on Janice Hadlow’s 2020 novel, The Other Bennet Sister is a revisionist origin story centring on Mary, the middle Bennet daughter. North Yorkshire rising star Ella Bruccoleri takes the title role, with Richard E. Grant and Ruth Jones as her inimitable parents. 

While the story opens on familiar terrain, it soon whisks Mary into a radical beyond. Taken under the wing of her uncle and aunt, Mr (Richard Coyle) and Mrs Gardiner (Indira Varma), Mary becomes a governess to their three children and finds two love interests in the form of Mr Hayward (Dónal Finn) and Mr Ryder (Laurie Davidson). 

Bruccoleri, who was raised on the Brontës, is now on her own Austen odyssey (learning calligraphy, playing piano and Regency dancing) – but her Mary isn’t an Austen heroine that will feel familiar. She is fraught with a sort of ‘self-hatred’, the actress reflects, reciting the adage that ‘Elizabeth Bennet is who Jane Austen wants to be, and Mary Bennet is who she’s scared she really is. It’s essentially her journey trying to find love, human connection, independence and, I think most importantly, self-acceptance.’

C&TH sat down with Ella ahead of the series to find out more.

Ella Bruccoleri: ‘I think we can all agree Mary Bennet is a fairly overlooked character.’ (BBC/Bad Wolf)

Q&A: Ella Bruccoleri On The Other Bennet Sister

You are about to star as Mary Bennet in The Other Bennet Sister. Can you give us an elevator pitch for the show?

Yes, it’s about Mary Bennett, who I think we can all agree is a fairly overlooked character within the world of within Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The series is based on Janice Hadlow’s book: Janice took Mary out of the world of Pride and Prejudice and gave her her own life and her own story in The Other Bennet Sister. We see her initially dropped into the world of Pride and Prejudice that we all know – that really familiar world with those iconic characters. So it’s kind of like an origin story, because we come to understand why Mary became the way that she is. 

But then we take her beyond that. She moves to London, and then she goes to the Lake District, and it’s essentially her journey trying to find love, but also the human connection she doesn’t have within her own family. She’s also trying to find independence and, I think most importantly, self acceptance. I don’t think the Mary Bennett within Pride and Prejudice is very self accepting, so the series is about her trying to find a value for herself outside of her family, basically.

Are you an Austen fan? How did it feel to enter the world?

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t an Austen fan growing up; I was brought up on the Brontës. Obviously I was familiar with her work, but it wasn’t until getting this job that I was like, ‘oh, I should really, delve into Austen’. So I did for prep, and then even beyond that. I mean, I’m not filming the show anymore, but I’m still reading Austen; I’m just obsessed with her. She’s obviously an incredible writer. I think she finds a way to comment on the absurdity of society with such humour. It’s not too heavy-handed, and it just gets to the point. Her books are so perennial and universal. 

It would always be an honour [to play Mary bennet] because Austen is so loved, and the story of Pride and Prejudice is perhaps the most iconic story of our society. So to be able to take one of those characters and do something that feels quite faithful to her – and that I hope she would be interested in – is an hour. Someone said to me that Elizabeth Bennett is who Jane Austen wants to be, and Mary Bennett is who she’s scared that she really is. And I think that self-hatred comes across a little bit within the character of Mary Bennett. I think our story is about her being able to escape that self-hatred a little bit.

What is the significance, for you, of bringing someone who has always been on the fringes, almost like a side character, into the full spotlight?

It’s really interesting, because you’re placing someone at the centre of the action who actually isn’t that comfortable being there. Mary doesn’t really want to be the lead character in a story, or the heroine of a period drama. She finds the fringes safer. That’s why, quite literally, when she’s at the Regency balls, she’d much rather be next to the wall observing what’s happening than in the centre of any of the action. So she’s not a typical period drama heroine. She doesn’t speak in witticisms and she’s not socially animated – quite often, she doesn’t know what to say, so just says something that doesn’t make any sense. The way she talks isn’t linear and cohesive. 

I feel like she’s an introvert, and that’s why she’s often overlooked. And I feel like that’s the case with people in real life as well: people often overlook other people who aren’t really forthcoming and yielding with their own personalities, but they’re quite often the most interesting people. So it’s nice to force her into the spotlight a little bit, and let people observe what that might feel like.

Aside from reading Austen, what did you do to prepare for the role?

Loads of stuff! There was a bunch of stuff I was doing off my own back. I had this really vicious plan that I was going to read all of the books referenced in the script before I started filming. Mary obviously reads a lot, so I ordered them all, and when they arrived each one was like its own big pile of books. My boyfriend was like, ‘You’re not gonna get through even one of these!’ To be fair, I tried to get through them. But then when we started filming, I just had no time. 

I was consuming all the Austen stuff I could get my hands on, as well, just to understand more about what that world is meant to be like. The producers of the show were amazing because they got me learning all these Regency skills like calligraphy so I could do Mary’s writing with an ink and quill. I was learning piano and doing dance classes. I was doing everything that I could possibly do to feel like I would be able to fully embody her.

Ella Bruccoleri: ‘Mary doesn’t really want to be the lead character in a story.’ (BBC/Bad Wolf)

Have you kept any of those skills up since?

I managed to sneak away with my keyboard. I didn’t ask anyone. I was like, ‘I’m just gonna take that home and see if anyone says anything.’ So I’ve got it, but I will be honest: I have not played it since I finished filming. But my goal is to start it up again because I feel really proud of myself that I learned to play full songs on the piano. I’d never played piano before. I also did write all my Christmas gift tags with my quill and ink.

The cast on The Other Bennet Sister is stacked. What was it like to work with everyone?

Everyone was really generous, and they did a really good job. Not only was everyone really well cast for their respective parts, but I love it when there’s no ego and no bad egg ruining the dynamic of a project. The thing that felt really special about this was that there are times, sadly, where you feel like people are just there because it’s a job. But with this I felt that every single person involved, both cast and crew, was really invested in the story and really proud to be doing it, bringing their A game every day. To me, that feels quite rare.

Did anyone bring an especially playful or dynamic vibe to the set?

Anna Fenton Garvey, who plays Charlotte Lucas. She’s a newcomer, but you’ll get to know her, because she’s wonderful. She’s quite a character. She decided she wanted us to become a harmony group, so she was getting me to learn all these harmonies every day. Bear in mind I was really busy, in every scene of the show! It was actually really sweet. Stuff like that can really help with the stress of a lot of other stuff you do. 

Ruth Jones is brilliant. She’s hilarious, irreverent and wonderful. We were filming in Wales, based in Cardiff, quite near Barry Island where she did all the Gavin and Stacey stuff. So she arranged for this Dave’s Coaches tour to come and pick us up one night after work and take us to Barry Island. She got the cafe to stay open late for us, and people swam in the sea. And then she arranged for unlimited ice cream for everyone all night. 

On set, Indira Varma and Richard Coyle were quite naughty. We had a lot of stuff to do with the kids, so that was good because we would throw the rules out and just be really silly with them, be really playful, so that they feel more relaxed.

Any standout filming locations?

I loved filming in Wales. I can’t speak highly enough about it; it was like a revelation for me. I’d only been there once, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is the most beautiful country in the world!’ I was blown away by it. Some of our locations had to stand in for the Lake District so we did a lot of filming in the Brecon Beacons and on all these beautiful lakes. It was quite breathtaking. There were days when Dónal [Finn] and I just had to row on a lake all day while they captured shots of us in the sun; it was incredible.

Ella Bruccoleri: ‘I want to go to Sri Lanka… I always get the most excited about travelling.’
Photography: Lucia O’Connor-McCarthy
Styling: Tona Stell
Hair & Make Up: Rebekah Lidstone

You previously had a small role as Miss Barragan in Bridgerton. What is that like to look back on now?

It was really nice, and so different to doing this. There were very similar costumes, and they can be quite uncomfortable because you’re all corseted up with things digging in. For Bridgerton, they wanted to make my hair as tall as possible, so I had this huge pineapple of hair on my head, basically. I had to have that on all day, and it was really weighty on my neck! 

Having to go through that sometimes feels right; initially with Mary I asked for the corset everyday because I thought it would really help with finding her. And then after a while, you’re just like, ‘I’m in a corset everyday, and it’s hell!’ I decided I was going to start releasing it day by day, so I could find a different version of her as she goes on her journey. That felt quite appropriate. 

But no, I loved doing Bridgerton. I met loads of lovely people on that job. I didn’t have a lot of responsibility because I’m not in it that much; they got me doing, like, TikTok dances behind the scenes.

You recently starred in your first stage production, The Virgins. What was that like compared to your experience on TV and in film?

It’s so different. It’s been such a learning curve. It feels really odd, all of a sudden, that when we film, there’s so little time. I love everything about the lifestyle, but the lack of time is kind of mad. You come to set having done all your prep, and then you just have to be ready to go. Sometimes you’ll get an hour to workshop it with your fellow actors and the director, but sometimes you won’t, you’ll just be straight in. You’ll go over the blocking, but in terms of what you’re actually playing and feeling, you’re just supposed to have already inhabited all of that and suddenly be able to bring it to life. 

Now that feels mad to me, because we did six weeks [ahead of The Virgins] working out what the play is with this group of people. But it somehow works. When you see people pull these amazing performances out of the bag on screen with comparatively such little time to do it… Maybe it’s something to do with the adrenaline – just having to be really in the moment that makes that feel possible.

Any other roles in the pipeline you’re excited about? (If you’re allowed to tell us?)

I’ve got a film coming out called Wicker, which I just was at Sundance Film Festival for. I don’t know when that’s coming out, but that is very fun, unusual. I don’t think anyone will have ever seen anything like it before. It’s a modern folk tale with Olivia Coleman playing a smelly fisherwoman who falls in love with a man made out of wicker played by Alexander Skarsgard. It’s set in a village that finds their love really difficult to understand and to come to terms with. It’s irreverent and quite beautiful. I’m really excited about that coming out.

Anything you’re excited about in your personal life?

I want to go to Sri Lanka. I don’t know if my agent will let me, but I always get the most excited about travelling. I just love going to new places, but I often have to cancel holidays because of work. You can’t really make personal plans in our industry because a lot of the time you end up having to cancel them because work gets in the way. And that’s what you want – to work. It’s a gift and a privilege. But I would be really excited to do a big trip this year. 

I think we’re going to go to New York to do press for The Other Bennet Sister; I’m really excited about that as well. And I’ve just moved into a new home, so I’m excited to settle more into that, and enjoy finally having a kitchen. I haven’t had a kitchen in a very long time.

You’re in a band called Marry Me Emelie! What else do you like to do in your downtime?

You know, I’ve been working so much I’ve forgotten what I do in my life! I spend a lot of time writing and making music. Normally I love to cook, too – that’s why the kitchen thing is quite sad. I really obsess over flavour combinations and recipes and stuff. I run a netball team with my friend Matilda; we play every Wednesday, and we gather everyone who basically has PE PTSD all together and just run about. It’s chaotic, and you don’t have to be good, and that’s really wonderful. I also watch loads of films, and I’m writing a screenplay with my collaborative partner and boyfriend, too.

Ella Bruccoleri stars in The Other Bennet Sister, kicking off at 8pm, Sunday 15 March with a double bill on BBC One. Two episodes will then air weekly on Sunday evenings.

The first five episodes of The Other Bennet Sister will launch on BBC iPlayer at 6am, Sunday 15 March, followed by the second half of the series from 6am, Sunday 29 March 2026.

The Other Bennet Sister will launch in the US and Canada on 6 May, exclusively on BritBox.