Vigil star Suranne Jones says this gay role made her a ‘true ally’
Suranne Jones
Suranne Jones returned to screens this month in series three of BBC military drama Vigil, in which she plays bisexual detective chief inspector Amy Silva.
Over three series, Vigil has developed a popular relationship between Jones’ character and detective sergeant Kirsten Longacre (played by Rose Leslie), offering a vital portrayal of sapphic romance on primetime TV.
After previous missions saw Silva solve crimes involving milatary drones and a submarine, series three of Vigil is set at an Arctic research station in Svalbard, where Silva and Longacre investigate the death of a British special forces officer involved in a covert mission.
Suranne Jones has developed a major LGBTQ+ fanbase in recent years thanks to her role as Silva and as Anne Lister in acclaimed period drama Gentleman Jack (as well as, possibly, her heterosexual but incredibly camp turn as a wronged wife seeking revenge on her husband in BBC drama Doctor Foster).
Lister was a 19th-century diarist and lesbian who documents her dangerous romantic rendezvous through cryptic code.
‘I felt like I was invited to be a true ally’
After her stellar performances both roles landed her such a devoted following, Jones pledged to portray more queer characters on-screen in the future.
Speaking to The Independent about the adoration that people have for Gentleman Jack, which was sadly cancelled after two seasons, Jones said: “I had played gay and bisexual characters before, but with Gentleman Jack, people started writing to me personally.
“I felt like I was invited to be a true ally, which I took very seriously, and I absolutely loved that role and what it did for people.”
She said of playing a bisexual character in police procedural series Vigil: “We’ve given Vigil a very real feel of two women who are defined by their careers, and the difficulty that brings to a relationship, where they have one child and they are bringing another into the mix.
“And we do it in a big, ballsy show, where there are lots of bombs going off. My next few characters are not lesbians, but I’ll be back with some more, I’m sure.”
Vigil continues tonight (14 September) at 9pm on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.
