Anne Reid and Kris Marshall join cast of Andrew Davies' adaptation of Jane Austen's Sanditon

• Pride and Prejudice screenwriter Andrew Davies to adapt Jane Austen’s unfinished novel Sanditon for ITV
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The eight-part series, which recently commenced filming in Bristol, is written by acclaimed screenwriter Andrew Davies, who has previously brought War & Peace, Pride and Prejudice and, more recently, BBC1's Les Misérables starring Dominic West to the small screen.

The original tale, written in 1817 shortly before Austen's death, follows the spirited Charlotte Heywood (Williams), who moves to the would-be coastal resort of Sanditon.

“Jane Austen managed to write only a fragment of her last novel before she died – but what a fragment!” Davies said of the novel last year. “Sanditon tells the story of the transformation of a sleepy fishing village into a fashionable seaside resort, with a spirited young heroine, a couple of entrepreneurial brothers, some dodgy financial dealings, a West Indian heiress, and quite a bit of nude bathing.”

On her casting as the series' leading lady, Rose Williams said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be playing Charlotte Heywood. This role is such a blessing. She's a brilliant character: modern, headstrong, with heart and a voice. Andrew's scripts are so beautifully written and wonderfully full of powerful female characters."

Reid will play a rich widow, Lady Denham, while James stars as the (slightly wild) self-made man Sidney Parker, Charlotte's love interest in Sanditon.

Love Actually, Death in Paradise and My Family actor Kris Marshall will play Tom Parker, the man who hopes to transform Sanditon.