Suranne Jones's political thriller Hostage affirms her key belief: “I would never want to be prime minister”

“Me and Matt Charman, the writer, have known each other for a long time. We always wanted to do a project together, and I suddenly got an urge to do a political drama. I’ve always loved shows that take the viewer into the halls of power. Matt had done Bridge of Spies and Treason, so I knew that he was the person to go to. We bounced ideas back and forth and then we came up with this idea of me as the prime minister.”

But not a lone, Margaret Thatcher figure. “I didn’t want to be the only woman in a room full of men, but one working with another female leader. That’s the thing that’s different about it.” Hostage, a five-part political thriller produced for Netflix, hinges on the relationship between British prime minister, Abigail Dalton (Jones), and France’s female president, Vivienne Toussaint (played by Julie Delpy).

Women working together, not pitted against one another. Eventually. “Women are always put against one another, and these two fall for it,” says Jones. “At first there’s a lot of game-playing, and it’s not until later on that they start to see each other properly and realise how they can help each other.”

How did she research the role? “We spoke to people in positions of power. We went to the House of Commons, and we watched Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer battle against each other. We met with the Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle. We looked at Nicola Sturgeon. And Jacinda Ardern [the former prime minister of New Zealand]. We looked at Theresa May. And Lucy Powell [MP for Manchester Central]. We had fun developing it. It made me think about what being a woman of power means, and what it costs.”

Prime Minister Dalton comes with baggage: a husband (Ashley Thomas), who is a doctor for Médecins sans Frontières, their daughter and also her elderly father Max (James Cosmo). Each one is gravely challenged by the fact that she is prime minister. “The whole thing is about you, your family unit, how women split themselves between work and home, what the cost is, how you want to be portrayed, how the world perceives you as a woman, and what you have to battle with, before you start your day. All of that is going on before you put your heels on. And you might not want to put your heels on. And your power suit. But actually, you have to in order to make a mark in the room.”

Clothes play a subtle but crucial part. Delpy is classy in navy and ivory couture, a sort of Catherine Deneuve figure; Jones is smart M&S. “That the French president is effortlessly elegant was important, because her character is so confident. And she’s older, so she has this kind of wisdom on her shoulders, but she’s still making a lot of mistakes within her own personal life. With my character, we wanted to use high-street clothes, as well as British designers. We really thought about it and when you first see me, I’m in something like a Reiss suit with a Bella Freud shirt. But the next time you see her, she’s had an interaction with the French president and she’s dressed just slightly better.”

Jones plays a politician who starts with high ideals, and principles, but who has to face up to the compromise that politicians often find themselves forced into, despite themselves. “With politicians, the thing I was interested in, was the hope you give when you’re running for election, and the promises you make. Then the moment you get elected, and the door shuts, you have to go out and tell the world, ‘Actually, we can’t do this, this and this.’ So then everyone that voted for you, has a new opinion of you because you promised all of this stuff, and then you can’t deliver it.”

Would she ever want to be prime minister? “I would never want to be prime minister, even for a day. I would never choose it.” Because politicians can’t be truly honest? “Well, they could, but if they were, we’d all be gobsmacked, wouldn’t we? Also, I like to be in bed by 9pm. That’s another reason why I couldn’t be prime minister. There’s far too much to read late into the night. I don’t know how they do it.”

That’s why the show is called Hostage. Yes, her husband is taken hostage for real, but Dalton is also hostage to the job. “She’s hostage to Number Ten, to the rules.” Is that pressure more intense for a female PM? “I think it’s harder for women, as it is with most jobs. Breaking down the patriarchy isn’t an easy task. It’s really hard. When a woman stands up, there’s so many labels that she has to fulfil. Abigail Dalton is one person when she’s in front of the cameras but as soon as the door shuts, she’s a right old sweary Mary. And she’s human.”

Suranne Jones was born and raised in Chadderton, Greater Manchester and, after performing with Oldham Theatre Workshop and gaining a BTEC in Performing Arts, she went straight into the business. “I started on Coronation Street and I worked my way up. Corrie was like my own form of university and I loved it. And I did my time in theatre and loved it.”

Most people will know her from her impressive roster of roles in TV drama; Detective Rachel Bailey in Scott & Bailey, GP Gemma Foster in Doctor Foster (for which she won a Bafta), as well as Vigil and Gentleman Jack. She has her own production company, TeamAkers, that she runs with husband Laurence Akers. Say the company name out loud; it’s witty.

She’s also ensuring that other women are able to follow behind her. Not only does Hostage have two astonishing female leads, it has women throughout the team. “We have two female directors. I wanted the best people for the job – but the best people for the job were always going to be women. And Netflix agreed. If women don’t use women writers, or directors, or camera operators, no new women will come up in the industry. We need to train women. And we also need to have older women on screen.”

Looking like older women? “Well, as I’m frightened to death of any kind of Botox or anything like that, I’ll get the granny parts!”

She reflects a little. “My auntie was talking to me the other day. She said, ‘People always ask me, when did Suranne break her nose?’ I’ve never broken my nose, but because it’s not perfectly straight, or whatever… Anyway, character is about what shines from within. It’s not about fixing what’s outside.”

To date, Jones has been extremely sure-footed in her career choices. So what’s next for her? “Well, it’s changed, because I have a family now [a nine-year-old son]. I now think, ‘What’s going to make me happy?’ I don’t work in the summer, because my son is on holiday. I only work when he’s at school.”

Throughout the summer, Suranne and her husband will be helping out at a local theatre in Norfolk. Community is vital to a woman whose character and confidence were forged by growing up in a northern, working-class community with a connected, committed family around her. “With my mother and my aunties, we’d go to each other’s houses. You know, when we were kids, they’d all need help, and they were all busy women. Then the cousins had babies, and the cousins would come to the aunties’ houses and bring their little kids, because they needed a break. And so, the women in the family would rally round. I feel like all of that gave me a really good insight into what community is.”

The community of theatre was vital, too, to her development. “I wasn’t hugely bright – maths, science, all of that stuff didn’t interest me. I wanted to show my skills in a different way, which was acting. I was creative. Emotionally, I was intelligent. So, finding a group of people that I could express that with, and suddenly realising I was someone who’s got something to say, was important.

“Finding out that you are an important part of something is wonderful for a child. I teach kids drama now, and I love doing that. It’s one of the most beautiful things, because you just see a world in a child’s eyes, and when you give them a way to express themselves, it’s the most beautiful, wonderful thing. Keeping communities together is crucial in an age where social media and the rise of AI and technology is so fast, and when we have lost so much.
“Stripping everything back and bringing communities together, that’s really important to me. In Norfolk, we have a local community-run café, and the Little Theatre where we help out, is community run. The whole world’s in there.”

She may be a prime minister on our screens, but in real life this summer Suranne Jones will be on the beach or in the local theatre. And then tucked up in bed. “The beach, chippy, arcades, a bath at 8pm and in bed by 9pm. Honestly, I get up so early that by 4pm I’m starting to wane. So it’s good that we’ve met today at 11 in the morning!”

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