Ella Bruccoleri, star of The Other Bennet Sister, has revealed that health and safety concerns arose while filming a lake scene for the BBC period drama. The series, a nod to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, follows Bruccoleri's character Mary, the overlooked middle Bennet sister, as she leaves Longbourn after her sisters marry and her father dies.
Filming complications
In a new interview, Bruccoleri explained that the crew had initially planned to shoot the scene on a different lake where boats could be anchored to the bottom. However, at the last minute, water tests showed it was unusable, forcing a change of location. This led to the actors playing her suitors, Donal Finn and Laurie Davidson, spending a long time in the water, raising concerns for their well-being.
Bruccoleri noted that although the actors were meant to wear wetsuits for warmth, "vanity got in the way" as their Regency shirts became see-through when wet.
Stunt double revelation
She also revealed that a stunt double was hidden under the boat as the suitors pushed it to shore, while she sat inside. Bruccoleri told The Independent: "When the men are pushing it back, it looks like they're working really hard and putting loads of effort in, but there’s a woman under the boat the whole way, which I think is like a really nice analogy for life. These two men pretending to really put some muscle in!"
Referring to Colin Firth's iconic scene from the 1995 Pride and Prejudice, she added: "I think it’s really nice to pay homage to it because it’s one of the defining moments of British TV, isn't it?"
The Other Bennet Sister is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
