Shoppers watched as Leeds City Markets were transformed into London’s Hammersmith City underground station last week for the filming of Lost In Austen. The drama, which sees its heroine transported back through time to exchange places with Elizabeth Bennet, used some of the region’s most stunning locations including Bramham Park, Wetherby and York to portray the contrast between the period of Pride and Prejudice and modern day city life.

The four part series for ITV is written by acclaimed television writer Guy Andrews (Chancer, Prime Suspect, Absolute Power and Lewis) and features an all-star cast including Alex Kingston (ER), Jemima Rooper and veteran actor Hugh Bonneville.

Screen Yorkshire invested in Lost in Austen through its Production Fund and secured jobs for a number of regional trainees. The production liaison team were instrumental in attracting the drama to the region and ensured filming could go ahead without a hitch by negotiating filming permissions with local authorities and police.

Lost in Austen, a Mammoth Screen production for ITV 1 and Screen Yorkshire, is set to screen in 2008.

Hugo Heppell, Head of Production at Screen Yorkshire says

”Bringing high quality and popular drama such as ‘Lost in Austen’ to the region is critical to building a sustainable industry here. We’re working hard to build long term relationships with drama producers so we can continue to benefit from the jobs, investment and long term impact on tourism that drama production can bring. Yorkshire has a long and successful track record in film and television production and companies are attracted by the strong infrastructure, diversity of locations, comparatively low production costs and the positive filming experience they have here.”

From itv.com

Starring: Jemima Rooper, Alex Kingston, Lindsay Duncan, Hugh Bonneville and Elliot Cowan

If only Amanda Price’s life was as exciting and romantic as the novels she reads. Poor Amanda is fed up with her life in London and losing patience with her boyfriend.

She may be a thoroughly modern girl but she longs for a man who can spark the fires that lie within. One day she is alone in her flat, reading a book. She hears a noise in the bathroom.

From that moment on her life will never be the same. Before she knows what has happened she has travelled back in time over 200 years. Jemima Rooper stars as the beautiful modern day heroine who enters the world of Lizzie Bennet and her family, the famous characters from Pride and Prejudice.

Realising she’s joined the action at the very start of the classic novel, she gets to know the remaining Bennet sisters, and prepares to meet Mr Darcy (Elliot Cowan).

How will she keep the greatest love story of all time on track when Elizabeth Bennet is stuck in the modern world?

The ‘true’ story is in danger of being thrown off track by her presence. Because Amanda knows Jane Austen’s book so well she realises that she could ruin literary history for ever.

Playing Mr and Mrs Bennet are Hugh Bonneville and Alex Kingston. Lindsay Duncan is Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh; Morven Christie is Jane Bennet, Tom Mison is Mr Bingley, Tom Riley is Captain Wickham, and Christina Cole is Caroline Bingley.

The four part series is written by acclaimed television writer Guy Andrews (Chancer, Prime Suspect, Absolute Power and Lewis).

“Lost in Austen has the high production values of period drama. Its sumptuous period locations, costume, carriages and props are juxtaposed with Amanda Price’s very modern lifestyle. The cleverness of the script will appeal to Austen aficionados and attract a new audience to this beautiful love story,” says ITV Controller of Drama Commissioning Sally Haynes.