Pride and Prejudice (Season 1)

Pride and Prejudice (1995) is the BBC period drama from Jane Austen's novel that you can watch online on iFILM. Rural England in the early 1800s, five unmarried Bennet sisters, and a mother desperate to marry at least one of them off to money. When wealthy Mr Bingley moves nearby, he brings his proud friend Mr Darcy along.

Sharp-tongued second daughter Elizabeth (Jennifer Ehle) takes an instant dislike to Darcy (Colin Firth) for his arrogance, and he writes off her family as vulgar — yet can't get her out of his head. Through barbs, balls and a few unsparing letters, the two slowly work out where their own pride ends and the truth begins. Meanwhile gentle Jane falls quietly for Bingley while the Bennets keep sabotaging themselves. Benjamin Whitrow and Alison Steadman round out the household.

Six episodes, adapted by Andrew Davies, and home to the scene where Darcy strides out of a pond in a soaked shirt — the shot that made Firth a star and still gets quoted today. Plenty of viewers still call this the finest Austen adaptation ever filmed: witty, unhurried, never sugary. Made for anyone who loves English manners, living dialogue and a romance that takes its time. Stream every episode of Pride and Prejudice (1995) online on iFILM.