London, January 22 : An oil painting of Colin Firth has fetched 12,000 pounds at an auction - almost double its expected price.

The canvas depicts the actor posing as character Darcy from the BBC period adaptation of the novel `Pride and Prejudice', reports Times Online.

Bidders for the portrait battled to own a part of their favourite pin-up of the 1990s, which appears in the fourth episode of the series.

London, January 8 : An oil painting of Colin Firth, posing as character Darcy from the BBC period adaptation of the novel `Pride and Prejudice', is expected to fetch 7,000 pounds at an auction.

The oil painting, which appears in the fourth episode of the series, is set to be auctioned on January 21 in Bonhams Gentlemans Library Sale.

Accompanying the canvas, whose artist remains unknown, would also be a letter signed by the actor himself, reports the Telegraph.

London, December 29 : Colin Firth's wet-shirt scene as Mr. Darcy in the BBC''s 1995 Pride and Prejudice mini series might have left women swooning, but the director who filmed the programme has revealed that the actor never actually entered the lake.

Director Simon Langton said that the scene, which made Firth a household name and propelled him to fame as a film actor, was faked due to health and safety concerns.

He revealed that there were fears that Firth might catch a waterborne disease, and thus a stuntman was made to take the plunge instead.