James Jordan must be Darcy, and I know she's gorgeous, but I'd choose Rachel for Elizabeth

Ah - my 2 favs things SCD and P&P.

Loved Lost in AUsten too,

Can't really warm much to anyone as Darcy except Colin (swoon) though I agree Brendan makes a good second choice

He does have a soft side but like Darcy he shows it rarely.

ELizabeth I think Christine

Jane - Lisa

Bingely - definatly Ian

Snooty sister Caroline - Camilla.

Agree with all who have said James for Darcy. He is handsome, as we all know capable of being cold and cruel when he feels like it but as Cherie has proved he can be lovely.

Really struggling with Elizabeth though. Someone bright, funny, confident, quick witted and beautiful in an unconvential way. Slightly boyish with captivating eyes. Erin perhaps?

Both Tom and Darcy are from Derbyshire if that helps.
Nobody could hope to replace Jennifer Ehle as the definitive Elizabeth. Perhaps Cherie about 20 years ago?

Many posters have nominated James as a Darcy (and some Tom).

But does anyone believe that James (or Tom) are tortured souls?

Brendan, on the other hand.... might be nearer the real deal.

And several posters are assuming that Elizabeth should be good-looking, and some have even said beautiful, which might not be the case. Possibly, quite the contrary, as a contrast to Jane, who is.

Hehe love this thread and with OP.

this is such a great idea for a thread. Have been rummaging through my P&P and have a few quotes that may assist

Elizabeth bennet "Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at her without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticise. But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she hardly had a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes"

Elizabeth on Darcy "From the very beginning— from the first moment, I may almost say— of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry."

Sorry but Brendan is waaaaay beyond redemption by a good woman LOL!

Austen only gives vague descriptions as to what characters look like as she doesn't think looks are important - particularly when her characters come to life through dialogue and their actions, and I must say I agree with her approach. Darcy we are told has a 'noble mien' and I think he is described as tall somewhere as well, but could be wrong. The advantage of this is that we imagine our ideal man as being Darcy, (everyone has different ideas of what is handsome), and we can imagine ourselves as Elizabeth.
Of course when Austen wrote P&P she wouldn't have imagined that her novels would be adapted for TV and film. The assumption is now made of Darcy with dark, curly hair, and Elizabeth usually brunette with curly hair and Jane is often a blonde.

There are quotes in the novel which imply that Elizabeth is indeed good looking or even beautiful.

Caroline Bingley tells us that Elizabeth is reputed "a beauty" in her own neighbourhood (albeit disparagingly).
Darcy states deep into the novel that he considers Elizabeth as "one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance."

He also says when Caroline presumes she knows what he is thinking about,
"You are mistaken. My mind was more pleasantly occupied. I was musing on the pleasure that a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow."

Mr Collins when passing effortlessly from Jane to Elizabeth as a marital proposition also notes that "Elizabeth, next to Jane in age and beauty, succeeded her of course." I think this implies that while Elizabeth is not as beautiful as Jane, she is still good looking enough in her own right.

Sorry if the quotes are not quite accurate. I'm not using the book, and it's been some time since I read it.

That is so spot on I can actually sort of picture it!

'Some-sort-of-shopkeeper' bloke could be Len Jan Ravens is a great choice for Mrs Bennett as she could ham it up brilliantly. Anton is an alternative (very) for Wickham - maybe he could rise to it, who knows?

I've got a good one: Craig for Duckface's role!

Mark Ramprakesh would make a good Darcy, as already mentioned. He doesn't have to say a lot but when he does-wow - and would be good at standing around looking moody at parties.

Brian Capron has a brooding presence as well.

Just remember that the principal roles (as well as Wickham) are all young characters in Austen's book, in their early twenties I believe.

So it's hard for me to picture the horse-face Anton as Wickham, even if he's younger or younger-looking. Sorry.

Brian Capron could be a good Mr Bennett.

Mark Ramprakash, while being very handsome and moody at times, has too much crow-feet to be Darcy. *wears helmet waiting to for bricks to come down my head*

I know, I know: that didn't stop Colin Firth being Darcy though he was not old or doddery but obviously doesn't look like he's in his twenties. It works for Colin only because he IS a very good actor.

I'm thinking this must be a girl thing.

How about Craig for the original TV Caroline, role then? I think he would be perfect and he is bitchy enough. I don't know how old he is but I don''t think it would affect this particular role too much. He would love the make-up anyway, being a cross-dressing performer in another life before Strictly.

Mr Darcy James Jordan
Bingley Austin Healey
Jane Bennet Lisa Snowdon
Elizabeth Bennett ?
Mrs Bennet Arlene Phillips
Mr Bennet John Sergeant
Charlotte Lucas Jodie Kidd
Mr Collins (Italian version) Bruno Tonioli
Mr Wickham Tom Chambers
Lydia Bennet Christine Bleakley
Georgiana Rachel Stevens
Caroline Bingham Craig Revel Horwood
Uncle? Len Goodman

Ironically, Darcy & Elizabeth wouldn't have danced the waltz as it was first published in 1813 & the waltz wasn't introduced at the UK court until 1816 - when it was regarded as "indecent" & "obscene" due to the "voluptuous intertwining of limbs & close compressure on the bodies in their dance".