Halifax: Bankfield Museum buys Colin Firth's Pride and Prejudice shirt

The wet shirt scene has gone down in TV history

The shirt famously worn by Colin Firth in the BBC's adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice has been purchased by a West Yorkshire museum.

The item, which sold for £25,000 at auction, was one of seven outfits bought by Bankfield Museum in Halifax, which is run by Calderdale Council.

They were paid for using money from financial donations to the museum.

Calderdale Council's museum manager Richard Macfarlane said the shirt was "a piece of costume history".

"I'm delighted that thanks to generous donations we've been able to bring this item to Calderdale," he added.

The donations were ringfenced "for the purpose of enhancing the museum collection for residents and visitors", a council spokesperson said.

In January the Labour-run authority said it needed to save £18m over three years.

The free-to-enter museum also purchased the Gentleman Jack outfit worn by Suranne Jones, as well as the yellow pelisse from the 2020 film adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, two outfits from Downton Abbey and the King and Queen's outfits from The King's Speech, which Firth also starred in.

Calderdale Council's cabinet member for public services and communities Jenny Lynn said Bankfield Museum was "becoming increasingly known as a real hub for fashion lovers".

Its most recent additions "reaffirms Calderdale's place on the map as a cultural arts and heritage destination", she added.

Before the sale, auctioneers had given the shirt from the 1995 production an estimated price of £7,000 to £10,000.

Mr Darcy, played by Colin Firth, went for a swim to cool down

The hammer price was £20,000, double what was estimated, with a buyer's premium of £5,000.

The proceeds of the auction will go to the John Bright Foundation, an arts education charity offering creative programmes to children and young people.

A council spokesperson said the new items would be on display "as soon as possible", but an exact date was not given.

The costumes featured as part of an auction of items from the archives of Cosprop, a costume house founded by Oscar-winning designer John Bright.

The auction was held at Kerry Taylor Auctions in London.