Now this is a holiday treat to cherish. As was first announced in June, smash hit BBC and BritBox series “The Other Bennet Sister” is returning to airwaves this very year with a three-part Christmas special. And while this gentle reader, writer, and watcher was never worried that star Ella Bruccoleri would indeed be joined by co-star Dónal Finn for the new special, consider the Hayward reunion officially official today.
BritBox on Saturday revealed an official first look at the three-part Christmas special, which recently wrapped production in Wales. At the center of it (check it out above): why, of course it’s Tom (Finn) and Mary Hayward (Bruccoleri), who we saw happily married in the final episode of the series. Today’s announcement also reiterates the thrust of this special: “With marriage comes a new identity and the question remains: who will Mary become as Mrs. Hayward?”
Well, she’s still friendly with her one-time paramour Mr. Ryder, it seems, as star Laurie Davidson is also confirmed to be returning for the special. Other returning stars include Ruth Jones as Mrs. Bennet, Tanya Reynolds as Caroline Bingley, Varada Sethu as Ann Baxter (oh?!), Poppy Gilbert as Lizzie Darcy, Maddie Close as Jane Bingley, Grace Hogg-Robinson as Lydia Wickham, Molly Wright as Kitty Buncock, and Anna Fenton-Garvey as Charlotte Collins. Nerys Amber-Stocks also joins the cast as Mary’s housemaid Lucy.
Screenwriter Sarah Quintrell, who wrote nine of the 10 episodes of the series, has written all three additional episodes based on storylines by author Janice Hadlow. And series director Asim Abbasi has returned to direct. What a lovely family reunion!
The charming 10-episode series, based on Janice Hadlow’s novel of the same name, was a smash hit in its homeland, becoming the UK’s biggest drama across all platforms and streamers since May 2025. When it arrived in the U.S. and Canada via streamer BritBox, interest stayed big, driving a ton of new subscribers (more than 40 percent of whom have watched the series on the streamer).
The three-part special will air exclusively in the U.S. and Canada on BritBox and exclusively in the UK on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. An official release date has not yet been announced, but given its billing as a Christmas special, it will arrive in time for the holiday season (just don’t expect a holiday storyline!).
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