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Viewers were thrilled as they spotted a familiar face in new BBC period drama The Other Bennet Sister.

The new series - which reimagines the world of Pride and Prejudice through the eyes of often overlooked middle sister Mary Bennet - stars Call The Midwife's Ella Bruccoleri in the lead role. But as it started, eagle-eyed audiences noticed that Mary's confidante Mrs Hill was portrayed by Lucy Briers, who played Mary in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's novel.

Several shared messages on social media commenting on the "brilliant" casting, with one admitting that it brought tears to their eyes, reports the Mirror.

"Is Hill the original Mary? Please say she is - champagne casting!" one person posted on X as the series launched on Sunday (March 15).

"Ella Bruccoleri is fantastic as Mary and I love the link to the BBC adaptation of P&P with Lucy Briers as Mrs Hill (OG Mary)," someone else wrote on the platform, which was formerly Twitter.

"Ah wow, Hill is played by Lucy Briers, who played Mary in THE Pride and Prejudice," said another, as someone else remarked: "What a lovely Easter egg."

"Loving that Lucy Briers is the maid," penned one viewer, as another wrote: "I love that the original 1995 Mary is the lovely Hill in this show. Chapeau on the casting."

"Welling up here," admitted another viewer.

"Brilliant casting Lucy Briers (the original Mary) as Hill, the long suffering servant," said another.

The Other Bennet Sister is a 10-episode series based on a novel by Janice Hadlow.

A synopsis reads: "Her journey sees her leave her family home for the soirées of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love, and reinvention."

"The series follows Mary as she steps out of her sisters' shadows in search of her own identity and purpose, finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way," it continues.

Other cast members include Richard E Grant and Ruth Jones as Mr and Mrs Bennet, Indira Varma and Richard Coyle as Mr and Mrs Gardiner, and Laurie Davidson and Dónal Finn as Mary's potential suitors, Mr Ryder and Mr Hayward.

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The Other Bennet Sister airs on BBC One and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.