A few false notes but entertaining froth from Lost In Austen's second outing

Just a quick opinion on the second episode of ITV's Lost In Austen, aired on the 10th September. After last week's bright start, we are now fully immersed with Amanda Price in Austenland. Elizabeth Bennet has been banished in perpetuity it seems, to 21st century Hammersmith - until, no doubt, the end of the series.

Lost In Austen remains sparkling, often witty with some nice acting along the way. This week Mr Collins, played by Guy Henry, was the star performer. He was suitably spiderish and unctuous, to an almost queasy degree. His little self-handling habit was aptly stomach-churning.

I'm still not sure about Jemima Rooper's Amanda Price. Her chattering internal voice irritated me, and her constant Thoroughly Modern Miss-iness began to grate on my nerves.

Amanda's constant and desperate drive to steer the Pride & Prejudice plot in the right direction also began to pall. I hardly know how Mr Darcy (Elliot Cowan) tolerated her constant pratings about 'Elizabeth' and there were further jarring moments too, when Amanda bluntly told characters what they were like, based on her reading of Austen's novel. Occasionally this worked well, particularly when she complained that she never really got Miss Bingley's character!

In sum, Lost In Austen's second outing was less impressive than the series' opener - too many false notes and excessive exposition, and an over-flustered heroine sporting a pained grimace as her plans to put the plot right, encountered one dramatic failure after another. But overall, I am enjoying this series more than I thought I would (or should).