‘Sexy’ idea sparked Colin Firth’s Pride and Prejudice, says Andrew Davies

The writer of the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice adaptation starring Colin Firth says the idea came from a former student who suggested he make it “really sexy”.

Written 30 years ago by Cardiff-born Andrew Davies, the TV adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel became a cultural phenomenon, attracting more than 11 million viewers in the UK and millions more in the US.

It won two BAFTAs and an Emmy, made Firth a star, and produced one of television’s most-talked about scenes as Mr Darcy emerged from a lake in a wet shirt.

Davies said “it took years of perseverance and persuasion to get it on our screens” due to commissioners saying costume dramas “had gone quite out of fashion”.

Davies adapted Jane Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice into a six-episode BBC series which aired in 1995.

Set in Regency England, the story follows Elizabeth Bennet and her complex relationship with the proud Mr Darcy, exploring love, class, and social expectations among the lives of wealthy people in the English countryside in the early 19th Century.

Davies said his former student Sue Birtwistle, who is now a TV producer, said to him “you and I should do a really sexy adaptation of Pride and Prejudice”.

“I knew exactly what she meant, it would be an adaptation that acknowledged that the plot of the story is about sex and money when people had the idea that Jane Austen was all about politeness, witty remarks and everyone buttoned up to the neck,” he told Radio Wales Breakfast.

Davies explained how the reviews and press coverage made it clear the show was “causing much more of a stir than most things did”.

“These were the days before ‘binge watching’ so episodes went out weekly so there was a sense of a big build up.

“More and more people were talking about it as the weeks went on,” he added.

Speaking about the infamous lake scene, in which Firth as Mr Darcy emerges wet-shirted and dripping from the lake of his country estate after an impromptu swim, Davies said: “I never meant for that to be a sexy scene.

“My thinking was all about giving an insight into Mr Darcy as the novel is written entirely from Elizabeth’s point of view.

“I meant for him to dive in naked originally but somehow we lost that but we gained the wet shirt.

“I thought the viewers would see the scene as sweet and comical,” Davies added.

According to Davies, Firth never escaped the impact of the role, although initially being “quite uncomfortable playing a leading man and a romantic hero”.

Despite this, Davies said he “took on the role so well” and called it an “extraordinary performance”.

“I’m absolutely thrilled that people are still watching it,” he added.