Gentleman Jack is set to return to our screens tonight.
The critically acclaimed historical drama is based on the memoirs of LGBTQ+ icon, Anne Lister. The show takes place in 1832 and follows Anne as she returns to Halifax and attempts to transform her ancestral home.
The trailblazing historical figure is played by actress Suranne Jones, who has forged a diverse acting career ever since she first shot to stardom on Coronation Street. Suranne first arrived on Weatherfield in 1997 in a small role as Mandy Phillips, but is best known for her second role as Karen McDonald.
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Suranne first started playing Karen in 2000 and the character endured a rollercoaster love life on the Cobbles before she married the legendary Steve McDonald. This led to one of Corrie's most famous feuds as she found a nemesis in Tracy Barlow, who was the mum to Steve's daughter, Amy.
Karen was a key feature in Corrie until 2004 when she eventually decided to exit Weatherfield after an "exhausting" four years. She told the Times : "I was living and breathing Karen McDonald."
Suranne was 21 years old when she landed the iconic role and she has since hit out at the culture surrounding soap actresses in the early 2000s.
According to Manchester Evening News, she told the Alice Liveing podcast, Give Me Strength: "At the time it was 'lads' maggy' - Loaded and Maxim. You know, those very 90s, bikini shot type things. I was whisked off to Barbados and put in a bikini. I’d been on one holiday to Spain with my mates, abroad so it was like 'wow what is this?'
“Then I got on Stars In Their Eyes because they wanted me to do a celebrity special on Stars in their Eyes, and then they put me in another magazine with a bra and knickers on. They would kind of give you a glass of champagne to get you a little loose and it was kind of that was more important than the storyline in a way."
Suranne thought the photoshoots were "fun" at first but then realised it was what she "signed up" for. Susanna agreed when the host probed whether the actresses were fed the narrative that the photoshoots would boost their career.
She added: "I don't think Coronation Street was alone in that I think all of the soaps used their girls in that way. I hadn't thought about my body up until that moment so I do think that suddenly you were asked to do all those things and it creates the narrative of 'oh you're good looking or you're sexy."
Suranne started to win acting awards for her performance - and said she then started to be drawn more to the creativity around developing her character. She added: "Thank God that I felt like because there was no-one there at the press office. There was no guardian for new young actors and there was no media training."
Suranne has forged a successful career in television since she quit Weatherfield. She has performed leading roles in shows such as Scott and Bailey, Doctor Foster and Vigil. Away from the screen, Suranne is married to freelance scriptwriter Laurence Akers and she gave birth to a son in 2016.
Suranne is actually a stage name and she was born Sarah Anne, but chose to adopt her nan's name when she started her acting career. She told OK!: "My great gran was called Suranne and when my dad told the priest he wanted to call me Suranne, too, he said: ‘Now, that’s not a proper name.
"So I was christened Sarah-Anne. When I got the chance to pick a stage name, my dad asked if I would consider Suranne.”
The 43-year-old has also been open about her anxiety battle and said she was put on medication after suffering a "breakdown" following the death of her mum in 2018. According to MyLondon, she told Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast: "I’m on medication and, at some point, I’ll aim to get off that.
“I think there’s a huge taboo around it and I wasn’t going to say it but I decided last night I should because it’s important I think. Looking after your mental health is everything. It’s like going to the gym, it’s about looking after yourself...
"I am fortunate to have been in therapy a very long time, but now and again the pressure builds up.”
Gentleman Jack airs Sunday at 9pm on BBC One
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