Pride And Prejudice's 20th Anniversary: Cast And Crew Reveal Their Secrets From The Set

Loading...
  • 1/9
    1/9
  • 2/9
    2/9
  • 3/9
    It will always be best remembered for the famous scene in which Mr Darcy emerges from the lake in a wet shirt, but Colin Firth wasn’t actually allowed to dive into the lake himself because of the fear he might contract Weil’s disease, spread by rats’ urine in the water and potentially fatal. "We made him look wet instead," director Simon Langton explains. "Colin poured a bucket of water over his head – and the rest is history."
    3/9 It will always be best remembered for the famous scene in which Mr Darcy emerges from the lake in a wet shirt, but Colin Firth wasn’t actually allowed to dive into the lake himself because of the fear he might contract Weil’s disease, spread by rats’ urine in the water and potentially fatal. "We made him look wet instead," director Simon Langton explains. "Colin poured a bucket of water over his head – and the rest is history."
  • 4/9
    Audiences fell for the slowburn romance at the heart of the drama, helped no doubt by Colin and Jennifer's own real-life love affair on set. The romance went on for several months after the filming of Pride And Prejudice was over but ended as Colin was away making BBC drama Nostromo in Colombia (where he met his future wife, Italian Livia Giuggioli).
    4/9 Audiences fell for the slowburn romance at the heart of the drama, helped no doubt by Colin and Jennifer's own real-life love affair on set. The romance went on for several months after the filming of Pride And Prejudice was over but ended as Colin was away making BBC drama Nostromo in Colombia (where he met his future wife, Italian Livia Giuggioli).
  • 5/9
    Andrew Davies, the screenplay writer, didn't think Julia Sawalha, best known for playing straight-laced Saffy in Ab Fab, could pull it off the role of Lydia. But he now states 'Julia was absolutely brilliant.’ In fact she was actually 25 playing 15.
    5/9 Andrew Davies, the screenplay writer, didn't think Julia Sawalha, best known for playing straight-laced Saffy in Ab Fab, could pull it off the role of Lydia. But he now states 'Julia was absolutely brilliant.’ In fact she was actually 25 playing 15.
  • 6/9
    The ladies' Regency necklines displaying ample cleavage caused much merriment on set. But the high-waisted dresses saved the day for director Simon Langton when three months into filming Susannah Harker, who played Jane Bennet announced she was pregnant.
    6/9 The ladies' Regency necklines displaying ample cleavage caused much merriment on set. But the high-waisted dresses saved the day for director Simon Langton when three months into filming Susannah Harker, who played Jane Bennet announced she was pregnant.
  • 7/9
    The dancing and flirting in the ball scenes carried on in real life. ‘There was a lot of alcohol involved,’ admits Adrian Lukis, who got the role of George Wickham. On the first night of filming he and Colin were drinking in the hotel bar, when Colin playfully claimed his room was far superior, with a Jacuzzi.
    7/9 The dancing and flirting in the ball scenes carried on in real life. ‘There was a lot of alcohol involved,’ admits Adrian Lukis, who got the role of George Wickham. On the first night of filming he and Colin were drinking in the hotel bar, when Colin playfully claimed his room was far superior, with a Jacuzzi.
  • 8/9
    Make-up was banned for the sake of accuracy except for a lick of rouge for the ball scenes. The men had their hair curled every day.
    8/9 Make-up was banned for the sake of accuracy except for a lick of rouge for the ball scenes. The men had their hair curled every day.
  • 9/9
    Catastrophe occurred when Colin Firth had to shoot the underwater close-ups of him swimming 'in the lake' in a large weed-filled tank at Ealing Studios. ‘The tank was covered by four heavy, metal-reinforced wooden slabs,’ says director Simon Langton. Colin’s initial dive took him further than he’d calculated, so he hit the metal support crossbar with a sickening thud – right on the bridge of his nose.
    9/9 Catastrophe occurred when Colin Firth had to shoot the underwater close-ups of him swimming 'in the lake' in a large weed-filled tank at Ealing Studios. ‘The tank was covered by four heavy, metal-reinforced wooden slabs,’ says director Simon Langton. Colin’s initial dive took him further than he’d calculated, so he hit the metal support crossbar with a sickening thud – right on the bridge of his nose.

  • More Galleries

Advertisement

Who can believe it has been 20 years since Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle gripped the world as on-off lovers Elizabeth Bennet and Fitz-william Darcy in BBC1’s mega mini-series Pride And Prejudice? We share with you some of the behind-the-scenes secrets...