Exclusive: Suranne Jones on Gentleman Jack’s “wonderful” portrayal of a lesbian couple in the 1800s
Suranne Jones spoke to GAY TIMES about the “punk rock period drama” Gentleman Jack ahead of its second season’s release. After debuting in 2019, the show instantly became a fan favourite among the LGBTQ+ community for its queer themes and storylines.
It is based on Anne Lister, an LGBTQ+ icon and diarist dubbed ‘the first modern lesbian’, who lived in the 1800s and wrote stories about her relationships with women in secret code.
Set in Yorkshire with Suranne playing the lead role, it tells the story of her character’s affair with Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle). “From reading the script and getting excited about this amazing kind of like, punk rock period drama about these two amazing women that Sally [Wainwright] has taken from history and plonked right on our screens on Sunday nights,” Suranne tells GAY TIMES of what she loves about the second instalment.
Speaking at a special screening in Halifax on 29 March where fans got to see the first episode of season two, Suranne adds that “it’s beautifully done” and she is “thrilled to be part of it.” She explains: “And, we now get to celebrate them [Lister and Walker], we get to hear about their struggles, we get to learn about them in detail and the second series is so wonderful because it really is a detailed account about how a same-sex couple navigate themselves in society with all the hardships and how they stick together without the bond of a child, without a marriage certificate – all the things that a lot of people take for granted.” The first season of Gentleman Jack aired in 2019, with the new episodes picking up just four weeks after the events of the finale.
