Pride and Prejudice trailer reveals first glimpse of Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden's sweeping Regency romance amid fears the 'sexless' adaptation will alienate viewers

The first trailer for Netflix's much-anticipated adaptation of Pride and Prejudice has been released, offering a look at the sweeping romance between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy that has gripped readers for centuries.

The six-part series is based on the iconic Jane Austen novel, and has been written by Everything I Know About Love author Dolly Alderton.

Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden take on the roles of literary icons Elizabeth and Darcy, who go from disdain for one another to fall in love.

Jack's appearance in the series comes amid claims he is on the shortlist of stars to play the next James Bond, with screentests for the final three actors in the running taking place last week. 

The preview sees Mrs Bennet, played by Olivia Colman, utter the novel's famous opening line: 'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.' 

Elizabeth and Darcy begin their famous verbal sparring, as she tells him: 'You mean to alarm me Mr Darcy, by observing me so closely?

'It seems your defect is a propensity to hate everyone.'

But he hits back: 'It seems that yours is to wilfully misunderstand them.'

The clergyman Mr Collins (Jamie Demetriou) attempts to show his charming side, telling Mrs Bennet: 'If there is one thing I am not in need of, it's counsel on how to charm a young lady,' but things quickly become awry.

Jane Bennet (Freya Mavor) shares her hope of finding love, unlike her sister, before growing close to Mr Bingley (Daryl McCormack).

Sprinkled with famous Regency dance scenes and stunning country skylines, the trailer ends with a longing glance from Darcy to Elizabeth, as she says: 'It really is so beautiful.

Pride and Prejudice was famously adapted for the small screen in 1995, starring Colin Firth, but fans hoping for a repeat of his famous 'wet shirt' scene may be left disappointed.

Sources told The Daily Mail last month that the six parter, which will launch on December 3, is a 'desperately sexless' take on the novel, with 'zero chemistry' between Jack, tipped as the next 007, and Emma, who was captivating as the young Princess Diana in The Crown.

One said: 'Jack can do hot... but in this he just comes across as grumpy. His neckties do him no favours.

'He has zero chemistry, I'm afraid, with Emma Corrin. It's all desperately sexless – no snogging, no wet shirts. Nothing steamy. There is one touch of hands as she gets into a carriage and that's pretty much it.'

The insider also compared it unfavourably with the 1995 Andrew Davies adaptation starring Colin Firth – who set pulses racing in that dripping shirt – and Jennifer Ehle, which managed to be smash-hit-sexy without being explicit.

Another insider shared an unfortunate side issue, too: Jack's wigs in the show make him a dead ringer for actor Simon Pegg. 

In early publicity, Netflix describe the series, scripted by Dolly Alderton, as a 'faithful adaptation' of the 1813 Jane Austen book.

Emma has called playing Elizabeth 'a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity'. 

She said: 'Like most people, I fell in love with Elizabeth when I first read Pride and Prejudice in my teens, and have spent the years since navigating situations wondering... well, what would Lizzy do?'

Writer Dolly said the actors who played the Bennet sisters had a WhatsApp group and Olivia Colman – who plays matriarch Mrs Bennet – arranged for them all to have a weekend away.

Dolly said: 'Olivia is fun, cheeky and mischievous. It's hackneyed to say it, but they really did become like a real little family.'

Incidentally, 2026 is a replay of 1995, when there were TV and film adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. 

In a piece for British Vogue, Dolly said she toiled with condensing Austen's 400-page classic into six episodes. 

'There were so many bad versions of this part of the story that I wrote and ended up in the bin.'

'One of the more memorable ones was 'the horny tree' draft, where Darcy shows Lizzy the oldest trees on the Pemberley estate and talks in cack-handed metaphors about how you can only see the true colour of the bark when you are close to it.'

Before shooting began Alderton sat down for tea with Dame Emma Thompson who wrote and starred in the beloved 1995 film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility.

Listing the pearls of wisdom gleaned from their meeting, Alderton wrote that she was told '90 per cent of Austen is the casting; a good comedy editor will make or break it; we must ignore the temptation to over-score and let the dialogue speak for itself.'

'I must prepare a document of additional dialogue so the language stays precise and the actors don't 'Regency ad-lib'; I have to make the stakes of marriage clear for a modern audience; I must not be scared of the Janeites ('They have the books. Let them enjoy the books.').' 

'As I leave, she gives me a big hug. ''Mate, it's gonna be brilliant.'' True sisterhood.' 

Pride and Prejudice arrives on Netflix on December 3.