Vigil’s Suranne Jones takes being an LGBTQ ally ‘very seriously’

Suranne Jones, the star of Gentleman Jack, has said she takes her LGBTQ+ allyship “very seriously.”

The Doctor Foster star returns for a second series of the BBC series, Vigil, on Sunday (10 December) as DCI Amy Silva.

Joining Jones again will be Game of Thrones‘ Rose Leslie as Silva’s romantic partner and colleague, DI Kirsten Longacre. The two characters are now having a baby, which will provide a new challenge for the pair as the drama unfolds.

“I’ve been very welcomed as an ally, and I take it very seriously” – Suranne Jones

Speaking to OK! Magazine ahead of Sunday, Jones discussed playing queer characters.

“Through Gentleman Jack I found a community that was so open and wonderful and receptive and willing to share their experiences with me. By doing that particular job and then this one, I’ve been very welcomed as an ally, and I take it very seriously,” said Jones.

Jones, 45, played Anne Lister in the now-axed BBC series. She also appeared as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series 5.

Of Silva and Longacre’s on-screen relationship Jones told OK! that she likes the all-female relationship being at the centre of “such a big, boy-sy, thriller.”

Jones and Leslie also shared with OK! that they had wanted to make sure their characters’ relationship on-screen felt authentic to a queer audience.

“Before we began filming Suranne and I wanted to make sure that within the writers’ room there was an LGBTQ+ writer,” said Leslie. She added: “So that we were able to get across the relationship, these are two people in love, and their sexuality in no way defines who they are.”

Previously Jones has weighed in on the debate around who should play queer roles. She told The Times in May that she doesn’t think queer roles should be reserved for queer actors. “I don’t look at it in any other way. Maybe I’ve not had the right training. I don’t know. I’m totally instinctive like that.”

Vigil returns to BBC One on Sunday 10 December at 9pm.