The Other Elliot Sister: New Austen Period Drama Based On Persuasion In The Works

It is a truth universally acknowledged that The Other Bennet sister was one of the best new period dramas to grace the screens of the BBC in recent years. Nothing has had us giggling, swooning, and twirling our hair in quite the same way since. 

Based on Janice Hadlow’s novel of the same name, the series is a Pride & Prejudice spin-off based on the novel’s nerdiest, most awkward, and crucially most misunderstood sister, Mary Bennet. The one least likely to marry, this series gives Mary the chance to shine, building confidence away from her family, and finding romance with the oh-so-loveable Tom Hayward.

The Other Bennet Sister was the biggest new drama across all platforms and streamers in the UK since March 2025, with 6.5 million watching in its first 28 days. And it seems that its success has been duly noted by the Beeb, with a Christmas three-parter already on its way this December. And now, a new ‘other’ Austen sister inspired tale just announced: The Other Elliot Sister.

Where The Other Bennet Sister drew its inspiration from Pride & Prejudice, this new re-telling is inspired by Austen’s last (and in my opinion best) novel Persuasion. Published just six months after Austen’s death in 1817, the story revolves around Anne Elliot (most recently played by Dakota Johnson in the disastrous 2022 Netflix adaptation) as she finds herself unexpectedly rekindling a lost love. 

But for this new story, we look to the margins, specifically to Elizabeth Elliot – the eldest sister of our humble heroine. 

Who Is Elizabeth Elliot?

It seems a somewhat strange choice. Namely because where Mary is an annoying but ultimately endearing underdog in Pride & Prejudice, Elizabeth Elliot is something of a stuck-up cow. Vain, arrogant and materialistic, she is by far her father (Sir Walter Elliot)’s favourite. Together, they, in a way, gang up on Anne, leaving her to organise everything for them as they cling onto the last of their material wealth.

There is, however, a twinge of tragedy in Elizabeth’s trajectory. She, along with the rest of her sisters, lost her mother aged 16 – and as the eldest, is left the lady of the house. Despite her hopes that the Elliot heir, Sir William Elliot, will marry her, he instead shacks up with a wealthy heiress. And then, when she dies, he briefly flirts with Anne before running off with Walter Elliot’s companion Mrs Clay. At 29 years of age, she is a beauty but remains unmarried. Her home, Kellynch Hall, will only remain Elizabeth’s as long as her father is alive. 

As Austen writes in the novel: ‘She had the consciousness of being nine-and-twenty to give her some regrets and some apprehensions; she was fully satisfied of being still quite as handsome as ever, but she felt her approach to the years of danger, and would have rejoiced to be certain of being properly solicited by baronet-blood within the next twelvemonth or two.’

At the start of the novel we see her security already under threat. Thanks to her and her father’s reckless spending, they are out of cash, meaning that the family must pack up their home, rent it out some ‘lowly’ yet wealthy admiral, and move to Bath. By the end of the story, Elizabeth remains, tragically for a woman of her age in that period, unmarried.

Jane Tranter, CEO Bad Wolf said: ‘Elizabeth Elliot is an intriguing figure at the edges of Persuasion – someone we know just enough about to wonder what might be going on beneath the surface… We’re delighted to be returning to the world of Jane Austen with the BBC and BritBox, and to bring another overlooked character to the centre of her own story.’

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama said: ‘We’re thrilled to be returning to Jane Austen’s world once more with The Other Elliot Sister. The audience instantly fell in love with Mary Bennet and we’re sure they will do the same with Elizabeth Elliot. It promises to be yet another captivating, heartfelt adaptation from Sarah Quintrell.’

Is It Based On A Book?

Like The Other Bennet Sister, The Other Elliot Sister will be based on a (yet unreleased) novel by Janice Hadlow – scheduled for publication on 23 September 2027. 

Release Date

The 10-part drama is slated to start production in 2027. With Hadlow’s novel set for a September release date, it seems likely that the series will be hitting our screens shortly after.