🌹24 Beautiful Stars of 1990s Austen Era Period Drama💕 Do You Still Remember Them?
Step back into the golden age of 1990s BBC period drama, when Wives and Daughters, Middlemarch, The Buccaneers and Aristocrats filled Sunday evenings with candlelit drawing rooms, country estates and stories of love, ambition and family. Nearly thirty years on, the casts who brought these four cherished productions to life remain etched into the memories of period drama lovers around the world.
Justine Waddell's tender Molly Gibson, who went on to play Tess of the D'Urbervilles and later founded the streaming platform Klassiki. Keeley Hawes's dazzling Cynthia Kirkpatrick, who became one of Britain's most loved leading ladies through The Durrells, Bodyguard and Finding Alice. Anthony Howell's gentle Roger Hamley, later Paul Milner in Foyle's War. Tom Hollander's fragile Osborne Hamley, who would become Mr Collins in Pride & Prejudice 2005 and win new acclaim in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. Francesca Annis's scheming Hyacinth, the BAFTA winner still remembered as Lillie Langtry. And the great Michael Gambon's Squire Hamley, who became Dumbledore to a generation and whom we sadly lost in 2023.
In Middlemarch, Juliet Aubrey's idealistic Dorothea Brooke won the BAFTA for Best Actress. Rufus Sewell's romantic Will Ladislaw went on to play Lord Melbourne in Victoria and star in The Diplomat. Douglas Hodge's Dr Lydgate became a Tony winner for La Cage aux Folles. Trevyn McDowell's beautiful Rosamond appeared in Kenneth Branagh's Frankenstein that same year. Patrick Malahide's cold Casaubon later ruled the Iron Islands as Balon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones. And Robert Hardy's genial Arthur Brooke remains beloved as Siegfried in All Creatures Great and Small — a treasured actor we lost in 2017.
In The Buccaneers, Carla Gugino's spirited Nan St. George went on to Spy Kids and The Fall of the House of Usher. Mira Sorvino's Conchita won the Oscar for Mighty Aphrodite the very next year. Alison Elliott's Jinny starred opposite Helena Bonham Carter in The Wings of the Dove. Rya Kihlstedt's Lizzy later appeared in Dexter and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Greg Wise's dashing Guy Thwaite was Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility that same year. And Cherie Lunghi's wise Laura Testvalley remains treasured for Excalibur, The Mission and The Manageress.
And in Aristocrats, the story of the Lennox sisters: Serena Gordon, who appeared in GoldenEye. Anne-Marie Duff, BAFTA-nominated for Shameless and unforgettable as Elizabeth I in The Virgin Queen. Jodhi May, a Cannes winner who later played Anne Boleyn herself. Geraldine Somerville, forever Lily Potter in the Harry Potter films. Alun Armstrong, an Olivier winner as Les Misérables' original London Thénardier, beloved from New Tricks and Bleak House. And Ben Daniels, an Olivier winner who became Antony Armstrong-Jones in The Crown.
Some are still beloved screen presences, some have stepped away from the camera, and two we have sadly lost. Join us for a tender then-and-now journey through 24 beautiful stars of the 1990s BBC period drama golden age — and tell us in the comments: which of these four productions do you remember most fondly?
Chapter Index
00:00 Justine Waddell
00:13 Keeley Hawes
00:28 Anthony Howell
00:43 Tom Hollander
00:58 Francesca Annis
01:13 Michael Gambon
01:28 Juliet Aubrey
01:43 Rufus Sewell
01:58 Douglas Hodge
02:13 Trevyn McDowell
02:28 Patrick Malahide
02:43 Robert Hardy
02:58 Carla Gugino
03:13 Mira Sorvino
03:28 Alison Elliott
03:43 Rya Kihlstedt
03:58 Greg Wise
04:13 Cherie Lunghi
04:28 Serena Gordon
04:43 Anne-Marie Duff
04:58 Jodhi May
05:13 Geraldine Somerville
05:28 Alun Armstrong
05:43 Ben Daniels
06:00 Outro
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