In her latest TV role, actress Suranne Jones plays a woman whose world unravels when she finds out her husband has been unfaithful.
But she hasn’t let that put her off men or marriage. Shortly after filming the hit drama series Doctor Foster, the former Coronation Street star tied the knot with editor Laurence Akers.
The pair had a whirlwind romance, getting engaged six weeks after they met, and marrying not long afterwards. It was a no-fuss wedding, with just a handful of guests in a small ceremony at Islington Town Hall in London. There was certainly no media coverage of the occasion. “Suranne is very private and not the type of person to have her wedding in a magazine or on social media,” says a friend.
“The nuptials were very hastily arranged with nothing too fancy. But it was intimate and romantic, and both the bride and groom were very happy.”
Here’s hoping she’s able to trust Laurence (47), who edits a photography magazine, more than her character Gemma can trust her husband in Doctor Foster. The five-part series has been hugely popular in the UK, although it has apparently prompted some viewers to follow in Gemma’s footsteps and surreptitiously check out their partner’s email, phone logs and bank accounts.
“It’s interesting because I think everyone feels that suspicion sometimes when their partner’s phone goes off unexpectedly. I hope we didn’t cause any divorces!” Suranne jokes. The actress was shocked when one of her friends admitted snooping on her other half because she suspected he could be cheating on her. “I was gobsmacked. I also heard about someone else who got a private investigator to follow their partner.”
She’s not likely to ever resort to drastic measures like that. “If you are doing that, you shouldn’t be with that partner, it’s as simple as that,” she says. Suranne (37) has won critical acclaim for her portrayal of Gemma, a GP and busy working mum, who is widely respected but becomes riddled with self-doubt thanks to her husband Simon’s behaviour.
To prepare for the role, she watched hours of medical documentaries and spent time with a village doctor. “I went to a GP surgery and sat in on consultations. I was the mad actress writing notes in the corner while people were opening up and having blood tests or doing pee samples. I felt very awkward,” she laughs.
Suranne has tackled a variety of roles, on stage as well as TV, since she left Coronation Street in 2004 after four years as stroppy Karen McDonald. She loved playing Steve McDonald’s difficult wife, but the schedules were exhausting and eventually she felt it was time she tried something different. “I was living and breathing Karen McDonald. I just thought, ‘While she’s brilliant and I’m enjoying her, I’ve got to get out.’”
Initially, she was offered lots of mistress-type roles, in which she wasn’t interested, or appearances on reality TV shows – something she believes she’ll never do. There was concern that she’d be pigeonholed thanks to acting on a soap. “There is a snobbery, I’m afraid, that exists around casting soap actors,” she says.
But she gradually landed work that appealed and even came up with her own TV series, alongside another former Coro star, Sally Lindsay (who played barmaid Shelley Unwin). Over drinks, they started discussing ideas for a programme with strong female characters, and their concept of a grittier version of Cagney & Lacey, set in the north of England, eventually became Scott & Bailey. There have now been five series, in which Suranne has played hot-headed cop Rachel Bailey.
Theatrical productions she’s appeared in include a stage adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando, in which her character starts out as a 16-year-old boy and ends up female. Critics described her performance as “superb”. Suranne likes to take on parts that people might not expect from her. “I have chosen roles that were perhaps unexpected for an actress who was best known for playing a gobby banshee like Karen McDonald on Coronation Street.
“I think there was once a perception that it was all I could do, but it spurred me on to try new, challenging roles and surprise people. I like to shock people.”