Ruth Jones reveals how working with Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma put her off Jane Austen – until The Other Bennet Sister

New BBC period drama The Other Bennet Sister may be based on a recent novel by Janice Hadlow, but that itself follows a character from classic literature – Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice.

The 10-part series follows the "overlooked" character of Mary Bennet, played by Call the Midwife's Ella Bruccoleri, while other characters from the novel are also featured, including Mary's mother Mrs Bennet, who is played by Ruth Jones.

The Gavin & Stacey star and creator recently spoke with Radio Times exclusively, alongside Bruccoleri, and revealed that she was actually a "a late-comer" to Austen as a novelist.

"I didn't read Pride & Prejudice till I was in my 30s," she explained, "and my initial take on it was that I didn't really respond to it, because I just thought, when I was reading the first 10, 15 pages, I thought, 'What's all the fuss about?' And then something just clicked. And I thought, 'This writing is superb. It's a brilliant observation of human psychology.'

Jones continued: "So that was my introduction to Pride & Prejudice. But I had actually done a film version of Emma, where Gwyneth Paltrow played the lead. I was the Bates's maid, so I was working with Sophie Thompson and her mother, and I was playing their servant. I'd worked with Sophie at the RSC, so I felt very comfortable and I was really excited to be there."

"I think it was my first film role," Jones said. "And I had two lines, I think I said something like, 'Please come in,' and then said to the Bates's, 'Miss Woodhouse is here.' And then I had to show her in. And then Gwyneth Paltrow cut 50 per cent of my lines. 'Does she really need to say that?' I wanted to die.

"And it's made me, since then, if I'm in something or if I've written something, I just know how important it is when somebody's got one line. So, again, Emma I thought was a fantastic piece of writing. I didn't read the book, I will admit, because it was quite dense and long."

Jones may have had a bad early experience with Austen adaptations, but now she is starring in The Other Bennet Sister, alongside a cast which also includes Richard E Grant, Indira Varma, Richard Coyle, Laurie Davidson and Dónal Finn.

The synopsis for the series says that it "follows Mary as she steps out of her sisters’ shadows in search of her own identity and purpose, finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way".

The synopsis continues: "Her journey will see her leave her family home in Meryton for the soirées of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love, and reinvention."

The Other Bennet Sister premieres on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday 15 March 2026.

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