The narrator Anna Chancellor is the six times great-niece of Jane Austen as she is a direct descendant of her elder brother Edward Austen Knight. She previously played Caroline Bingley in Orgueil et préjugés (1995).
The tan and black gown with striped sleeves and black crepe bow on the bodice worn by Wendy Craig (Mrs.Lefroy) is the same costume worn by Penny Downie (Lady Judith Milbanke) at dinner after Annabella returns to her parents' house in Byron (2003), Francesca Annis (Lady Ludlow) wears in Cranford (2007), Gemma Jones (Mrs. Dashwood) wears playing cards at Barton Park in Raison et sentiments (1995), Jemma Redgrave (Lady Bertram) wears in the final scene in Mansfield Park (2007), and Rosemary Enright wears at dinner in The Regency House Party (2004). The costume is also worn by an extra at the Netherfield Ball in Orgueil et préjugés (2005).
The red print gown worn by Catherine Bigg is the same costume worn by Susan Fleetwood (Lady Russell) at the party at Camden Place in Persuasion (1995), Sheila Gish (Mrs.Norris) while Fanny reads the newspaper aloud in Mansfield Park (1999), a guest at a London ball in Byron (2003), Elizabeth Devonport to dinner in The Regency House Party (2004), Hayley Atwell (Mary Crawford) in Mansfield Park (2007), Daisy Haggard (Anne Steele) to the London ball in Raison et sentiments (2008), and Alex Kingston (Mrs.Bennet) in Orgueil et quiproquos (2008).