Veteran screenwriter Andrew Davies, known for modernising British period dramas, has disclosed that he found inspiration in the reality TV series 'Made in Chelsea' for his adaptation of Jane Austen's unfinished novel, 'The Watsons'. Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Davies described the Channel 4 series as "stimulating really for relationships and ideas."
Davies, whose memoir 'An Unsuitable Boy: A Life in Scripts' is released this week, noted that the young men and women in 'The Watsons' are "very analogous to Made in Chelsea." He has previously likened his 2019 adaptation of 'Sanditon' to "Love Island" in Austen's world.
Joe Bray, an Austen scholar, suggested that some of Austen's characters, such as the Steele sisters from 'Sense and Sensibility', "would make perfect reality show contestants." An academic essay has also drawn comparisons, describing 'Made in Chelsea' as a "kind of homage" to Austen, focusing on the courtship rituals of affluent young people.