In Fensome’s version, multicolored socks stand in as cravats, doilies take the place of lace caps and — in perhaps his most notable innovation — safety-pinned T-shirts recreateElizabeth Bennet’s regency-period neckline. (Since he officially began the series last August, Fensome reckons he’s ruined at least three T-shirts — though he’s managed to stab himself with a stray pin only once.)
Ben Fensome; Jennifer Ehle in ‘Pride and Prejudice’.somebenfen/TikTok/Ben Fensome; Photo 12 / Alamy Stock Photo
somebenfen/TikTok/Ben Fensome; Photo 12 / Alamy Stock Photo
“There’s people who say, ‘This really made my day,’ or ‘I’m in a really tough time and this made me laugh,’ ” Fensome says of the overwhelmingly positive response to the project. “As soon as I post one, people are like, ‘Oh! My show’s on! My show’s on!’ So, it’s just great to know there’s people that are waiting for it. Because I wouldn’t do it if people didn’t want it. But people do.”
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Ben Fensome in his “Budget Pride and Prejudice” videos.somebenfen/TikTok/Ben Fensome
somebenfen/TikTok/Ben Fensome
“I think I just liked the funny bits as a kid,” he says. “There’s a lot of kind of very big outlandish characters which are very funny, so I think that’s what I responded to. As I got older, then I sort of liked the story a bit better.”
The BBC series, which firstaired in the U.S. on A&E in 1996, was neither the first, nor the last adaptation of Austen’s novel. This year, directorJoe Wright’s 2005 film version starringKeira KnightlyandMatthew Macfadyenis celebrating its 20th anniversary. But Fensome says the BBC series has stood the test of time and managed not to be eclipsed because “it has complete trust, more or less, in the source material.”
“Also, you know, there’s the wet Colin thing,” he adds.
Ben Fensome; Colin Firth in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ in 1995.somebenfen/TikTok/Ben Fensome; Maximum Film / Alamy Stock Photo
somebenfen/TikTok/Ben Fensome; Maximum Film / Alamy Stock Photo
The scene, which Fensome has recreated twice, may seem quaintly tame now. But, says Fensome, “When you watch it from the start, you get the societal mores and all the kind of very prim and proper things all the way through. It makes it more of a big deal when it happens, because obviously they haven’t slept together, they haven’t seen each other naked. And whilst that bit isn’t in the novel, they don’t overdo it. Like, he is fully dressed and he’s just wet. That’s all it is. And I think there might be a nostalgia making it as big as it is. Because I think the intention with that is to make it a bit awkward. It’s not sexy, it’s just awkward.”
As of January 2025, Fensome has posted 44 installments. He recently announced that he would be taking a short break while traveling to London for work, with regular posts resuming in February. And for Americans currently unable to download TikTok in the wake of the enactment of theProtecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Acton Jan. 19, Fensome also posts his “Budget Pride & Prejudice” clips onInstagramandYouTube.
Ben Fensome.Andrew Butler
Andrew Butler
“People really want it to be stitched together into one big thing," he notes. “You can’t really do that on YouTube because of copyright stuff, so I don’t know where or how I’d do that. But maybe I’ll do something like that.”
Fensome also recently completed another Austen-adjacent project: narrating the upcoming audiobook version of author Brandon Dragan’s recent novelMr. Bingley: Just As a Gentleman Ought to Be. And while Fensome says he’s “eyeing” directorAng Lee’s 1995 film version ofSense and Sensibility, don’t expect a follow-up to “Budget Pride & Prejudice” anytime soon.
“I think I would have to have a big ol’ break before I do all that,” he says.
source: people.com
