Colin Firth’s lake-soaked Mr Darcy shirt from Pride And Prejudice sold for £20k

The shirt worn by Colin Firth when he strode across fields dripping wet after a swim in the lake during the TV series adaptation of the classic novel Pride And Prejudice has sold for £20,000 at a charity auction.

The shirt smashed its estimate of £7,000 to £10,000.

Oscar-winner Firth played Fitzwilliam Darcy in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, opposite Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet – who is surprised when she visits his estate, Pemberley, to find him wet and not properly dressed.

The moment has been re-imagined in Netflix series Bridgerton, when British actor Jonathan Bailey steps out of a lake, and was also referenced in Bridget Jones’s Diary, which stars Firth as another Mr Darcy, a nod to his portrayal by writer Helen Fielding.

The costume was donated by Cosprop, a costume house founded by Oscar and Bafta-winning designer John Bright in 1965, to raise funds for The Bright Foundation, an arts education charity founded by Bright.

The auction, held on Monday and hosted by Kerry Taylor Auctions in London, raised £285,300.

A vintage 1950s Christian Dior taffeta ball gown, worn by Madonna in 1996’s Evita, sold for £40,000, while Johnny Depp’s Sleepy Hollow costume fetched £24,000.