Suranne Jones is set to play a Victorian lesbian who "loved sex" in a new historical drama.
The 40-year-old actress will take on the role of land owner Anne Lister in BBC One’s ‘Gentleman Jack’ – which was created by Sally Wainwright – and has said the character "loved women and she loved sex", though had to be "very careful" with her affairs.
She said: "She absolutely loved sex. She loved women and she loved sex. Talking to our advisor, the pool of women that she could choose from is quite small cause you have to be very careful who you’re talking to.
"The women she had affairs or dalliances or fell in love with, often they went on to marry men for love or to keep up appearances or for money."
Suranne – who is best known for her role in ‘Doctor Foster’ – suffered from "welts" on her skin after having acted in a corset for long periods of time during the shoot.
She added: "I started to get welts cause underneath all that costume there’s the corset and then we built on top. I had so many clothes on and the summer was very hot."
‘Gentleman Jack’ tells the story of Anne, who returns to Shibden Hall in West Yorkshire after a period of travel, study and social climbing. Once back home, she engages in a quest to transform her house and business interests, as well as to find herself a wife.
And Suranne says the work of women like Anne has still not been finished.
Speaking to The Sun’s Bizarre TV column, she said: "Even in 2019, women have to behave in a certain way, to a point, to get what they want. We’re getting there and we’re having this great conversation at this time. But I think when people see her (Anne) in a certain lights, it’s because she had to behave that way."
Suranne Jones to play Victorian lesbian in new drama
