NORTHERN LIGHTS: ‘THIS IS MY CHANCE TO GO BIG – OR GO HOME'

SURANNE JONES TALKS OF THE INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN IN HER LIFE AS SHE AGAIN STEPS INTO THE FORMIDABLE BOOTS OF FEMINIST ANNE LISTER IN PERIOD DRAMA GENTLEMAN JACK

- RIANNE ISON

As Suranne Jones returned to the set as lesbian trailblazer Anne Lister in hit BBC period drama Gentleman Jack, it was with one much-loved person in mind. Suranne, who plays the strong-willed, stomping Anne, revealed that whenever she steps into the shoes of a character, she can’t help but think of the woman who was the ultimate powerhouse in her life – her mother Jenny.

Jenny sadly died in 2016 after suffering from dementia, but Suranne says her legacy lives on in her own family and that she’ll always be grateful to her mother for giving her the inspiration to follow her dreams and pursue an acting career.

The 43-year-old former Coronation Street actress was born in Manchester, where she was raised by her mother and late father, Chris.

She said, “There are different icons in my life. I had a lot of women in my family, my mum and her sisters, who were always very strong women in different ways, good Northern women.”

Suranne, who has a six-year-old son with her husband of four years, magazine editor Laurence Akers, added, “My mum was very shy but with a real strength of character underneath, which I’m hoping to share with my son.”