Woman’s Day New Zealand – August 26, 2019

PHIE’S HISTORIC ROLE

eakyBlinders

actressSophie

Rundlesteps

back in time with

the new period drama

Gentleman Jack.

Set in 1832, the series is

based on the true story of

Anne Lister (played by Suranne

Jones), a bold woman ahead

of her time who returns to

her hometown of Halifax to

restore the family estate

she’s inherited. Sophie, 31,

portrays Ann Walker, Anne’s

scandalous love interest.

Introduceyourcharacter...

She'sa localheiress.She's

shehas a bit of a reputation.

AnneLister’s heard of her, but

dismissed her as someone

not really worth knowing.

Did you know about Anne

Lister’s story at all before?

No. I read all the scripts and

just devoured all of them

because it’s an extraordinary

story and beautifully told by

Sally [Wainwright]. When I went

to meet Sally, she told me

about Anne Lister and I did

a bit of googling. It’s amazing

how we just don’t know

about her. Her diaries were

more extensive than [English

diaristandnavaladministrator]

SamuelPepys’.Wegrowup

They are so different. You

wouldn't expect Anne Lister

to go for Ann Walker at all.

It’s almost a bit of a joke when

the seduction starts. I think

it's because Anne’s bored.

Ann is this rich girl, and Anne

Lister might have a bit of fun

seducing her. The fact that

they fall in love is at the heart

of this. Ann Walker offers

Anne Lister the chance to

be vulnerable.

How much of a taboo

would their relationship

have been at the time?

It’s unfathomable – it was

illegaltobea gayman,but

it wasn’tactuallyillegalto

be because

t

THE REAL

ANNELISTER

1

She moved at a brisk pace and

enjoyed long walks through the

countryside, reportedly walking almost

40km in one single outing.

2

A bright student, she attended

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Paris, covering everything from zoology

to mineralogy. She even dissected a

human head once!

3

Anne was a keen mountaineer, the

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4

Her life was cut short and she died

at the age of just 49 after a possible

tick bite.

5

She left behind a 26-volume diary

encompassing a total of 7722 pages

and roughly ƂYHPLOOLRQ words. Those

writings have become the basis of

the TV series.

6

Anne had four brothers, who all

died before reaching their 20s,

leavinghertoinheritthefamilyestate.

7

Thesavvybusinesswomanwas

landlo and

Get to know the wild woman

behind Gentleman Jack

heactress tellsa tale of true-life romance

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boththeAnneswerejust

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and relationsh

bea ga manbecause

peopledidnt thinkit was

evena t ngManypeo e

didn’t evenknowwhata

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unthinkable!

dlord sand

ownedsharesinthelocalcanaland

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was unusual for females the time.

able!

Gentleman

caller: Sophie

and Suranne

(below left)a

Anne andAnn

COOLTH

AND

BE EN

72 Woman’s Day

GENTLEMAN

JACK,

NOW ON NEON

SINGLE

PARENTS,

THURSDAY,

EON

Q&A

Th

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e

s

n.

NGST

DOWN OOA

N

MEET THE

PARENTS

LEIGHTON MEESTER

At 21, the brunette beauty shot

to fame on teen drama Gossip Girl

as sassy Blair Waldorf. She’s now

mother to three-year-old Arlo with

The OC actor Adam Brody and that

will certainly come in handy as she’s

set to play a mum in Single Parents.

Leighton’s character Angie is a sharply

opinionated mother who leads the

single parents’ group. Of her new

role, the actress, 33, says, “I think the

character is similar to me in a lot of ways.”

Take a look at the star-

studded cast of this

hotly anticipated new

show and see how

they’ve transformed

over the years