'It's Not About Being The Star Of The Show For Me Any More'

As her new drama Save Me arrives on TV, Suranne Jones, 39, talks to Nathalie Whittle about sneaking off set, challenging costumes – and juggling work and motherhood...

- Nathalie Whittle

Created and written by The Walking Dead star Lennie James, Save Me follows the story of Nelson Rowe (played by Lennie), the life and soul of the local bar, who is falsely accused of a terrible crime and sets out to find the real perpetrator. Doctor Foster star Suranne Jones plays Claire, who Nelson had a love affair with 13 years ago and hasn’t seen since – until now. Suranne lives with her husband, TV and film writer Laurence Akers, and their two-year-old son in London.

I have to admit, I wanted a bit of a break after I finished Doctor Foster.

When filming ended, I went straight off to America for three weeks to do a load of meetings and, in that time, I think my husband and son visited every single park in Santa Monica, while I was perpetually stressed out! But when the script for Save Me came along, it was so brilliant that I simply couldn’t say no.

My character, Claire, finds herself caught between two worlds.

She’s from a working-class background like Nelly [Nelson], who she shared a summer of love with many years ago, but she’s moved away from that world and married Barry, who she’s built a business with. She now has a flashy lifestyle – they live in a huge house with a swimming pool – then suddenly Nelson plonks himself back into her life. And let’s just say, Barry isn’t happy. It’s quite a roller coaster.