Well, we’ve been counting down our favourite shows of 2008 these last two weeks, and already we’ve reached the heady heights of number six. And would you look at this – the position is filled by a hip, innovative prime-time drama from ITV! Wonders never cease, eh?

Related: Our Lost In Austen section | Our Top 50 so far

Yes, a big round of applause is required for the commissioning bods at ITV1 for giving this drama a go. It’s not their usual thing, but they went for it, and it paid off. For those of you who missed it (for shame), Lost In Austen was a light-hearted but clever adaptation of Pride And Prejudice. Well, it took P&P as its source in any case, but the paths taken by the book and programme diverged more and more as the mini-series wore on.

Our thoroughly modern heroine Amanda, played with fun and real heart by Jemima Rooper, is reading Austen’s most celebrated novel, when she finds a doorway into it in her very own bathroom. As you do. Spurred on by inevitable curiosity, and a general malaise with 21st century life, she goes through, and, as the door slams shut behind her, finds that she has essentially swapped with the novel’s own heroine (who also could be described as thoroughly modern, in fact) Elizabeth Bennett. Now it’s up to her to keep the plot on course… or change bits of the plot which are bad news for the Bennett sisters, whichever feels right at the time.

The real triumph of this series was not the overall plot, which got increasingly muddled the further it was taken away from the story of the novel, but in the wonderfully fine dialogue. Every line, it seemed, was a winner. Sometimes it was Amanda’s stilted attempts at 18th century English, sometimes it was Kitty or Mary stumbling over the modern slang that they’ve picked up from their new friend from deepest, darkest Hammersmith.

I stand by my original assessment, however, that the greatest line came when Amanda attempted to ward off the unwanted attentions of Mr Bingley by saying that she prefers women: “So it is true that some women steer the punt from the Cambridge end” he said, with wide-eyed amazement.

This series could have easily become far too sweet, or far too self-consciously kooky, but in fact it was simply a classy, entertaining and genuinely different piece of TV incorporating great writing and some lovely performances. Even our Mof was charmed: “Lost in Austen has a great balance of daft and smart, attention to detail, and more, to keep just about everyone happy…This looks to be a cracking little show and kicked things off very brightly indeed. I’ll be watching this with a great big stooopid grin on my face from now on. Not only is it what we all need, but it’s what ITV1 have been craving too. Brill.”