The writer of the BBC's Pride and Prejudice adaptation starring Colin Firth says the idea came from a former student who suggested he make it "really sexy".
Written 30 years ago by Cardiff-born Andrew Davies, the TV adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel became a cultural phenomenon, attracting more than 11 million viewers in the UK and millions more in the US.
It won two BAFTAs and an Emmy, made Firth a star, and produced one of television's most-talked about scenes as Mr Darcy emerged from a lake in a wet shirt.
Davies said "it took years of perseverance and persuasion to get it on our screens" due to commissioners saying costume dramas "had gone quite out of fashion".
Davies adapted Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice into a six-episode BBC series which aired in 1995.
