Trivia / Jane Eyre (1983)

• Billing Displacement: Timothy Dalton gets the top billing in home video covers and modern trailers even though Zelah Clarke is very clearly the main character.
• Creator Backlash: Zelah Clarke had stated in an interview that she was disappointed why her acting career was in decline after this while her co-star Timothy Dalton became famous, although she has said she was pleased at her performance overall.
• Creator's Favourite Episode: Timothy Dalton admits in some interviews that his role being Mr. Rochester in 1983 version is one of his favourite moments in his whole career.
• Dawson Casting:
  • Zelah Clarke was 29, eleven years older than Jane. Most of her physical appearance matches the character she played.
  • Averted with Andrew Bicknell, the actor of St. John in this version. Bicknell was around 26 years old when he played St. John who is 29 years of age.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Zelah Clarke is naturally blonde and had dyed her hair hazel to play as Jane in 1983 version.
• From Entertainment to Education: According to The Brontës at the BBC documentary, this version was created to study its story in high schools and universities. Some of its footage made its way into few documentaries that talks about the life of Brontë sisters.
• One-Hit Wonder: Zelah Clarke made several appearances on TV and movies throughout 70's to 90's but she is best-remembered for her role as Jane. Since then, she was relegated to play as minor characters and voice acting after the show ended. She later gave up on acting for good to give focus on raising her own family.
• Remake Cameo: Meg Jenkins, the actress who played as Mrs. Reed in 1973 version returns as Mrs. Fairfax for this version.
• Star-Derailing Role: This show is arguably more or less killed Zelah Clarke's acting career. Before that, she did have some supporting roles in some TV shows and theater in the 70's. She believed that Jane Eyre would bring her career on springboard. Her acting as a titular character was received well by critics but she didn't receive any major offers in acting after the show ended. She continued to have some supporting roles after that until she retired in 1993.
• Wag the Director: Siân Pattenden, a child actress of Jane admits on her website that she requested her director to give her a gruel made from mashed banana and cream in one scene.
• What Could Have Been: There was suppose a scene where Jane and Mr. Rochester ride on a horse together in Episode 7. For some reason, that idea only showed up as a promotional image.