1958 · tv
Pride and Prejudice (1958)
The BBC's third Pride and Prejudice reused Cedric Wallis's 1952 script with an entirely new cast, led by Jane Downs and Alan Badel. The six-episode serial began broadcast on 24 January 1958; like its two predecessors, every episode was later junked and none survives.
Cast & Characters
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Jane Downs | Elizabeth Bennet |
| Alan Badel | Mr. Darcy |
The BBC returned to Pride and Prejudice for a third time in 1958, six years after its 1952 serial, using the same Cedric Wallis script but recasting every role. Jane Downs played Elizabeth Bennet and Alan Badel played Mr. Darcy, in a six-episode serial that began broadcast on 24 January 1958.
Recorded, then destroyed anyway
By 1958, the BBC did have videotape technology, and unlike the 1938 and 1952 productions, this serial’s episodes are understood to have been recorded rather than existing only as a single live transmission. That makes its loss a different kind of story than the two earlier ones: this wasn’t a broadcast that vanished the instant it aired, but one that was captured and then deliberately erased. Videotape was expensive, and wiping and reusing tape of broadcast drama was standard, unremarkable BBC practice through the 1950s, 60s, and into the 70s — the same fate that later befell large swaths of early Doctor Who and other classic series. All six episodes of this Pride and Prejudice were junked, and none is known to survive in any archive.
What’s documented
Beyond the two leads, contemporary listings record a supporting cast including Pamela Binns, Susan Lyall Grant, Marian Spencer, Hugh Sinclair, William Squire, and Colin Jeavons, among others, but detailed character-by-character casting for the full ensemble is not consistently documented across surviving sources, so it isn’t reproduced here as fact.
Three lost versions, then a survivor
Taken with the 1938 and 1952 productions, the 1958 serial completes a run of three consecutive BBC Pride and Prejudice adaptations that no longer exist in any watchable form — one lost to live-only transmission, one lost the same way, and this one lost afterward despite having been recorded. It would take until 1967 for the BBC to produce a version of the novel that has actually come down to us intact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the 1958 Pride and Prejudice survive?
No. All six episodes were recorded on videotape as was becoming standard by 1958, but the tapes were later wiped or destroyed — a routine practice at the time — and none survives today.
Is the 1958 version different from the 1952 version?
The scripts were essentially the same — the BBC reused Cedric Wallis's 1952 adaptation rather than commissioning a new one — but the cast was entirely different, led by Jane Downs as Elizabeth and Alan Badel as Darcy.
Who played Darcy in 1958?
Alan Badel, an established British stage and screen actor, played Mr. Darcy opposite Jane Downs's Elizabeth Bennet.