Suranne Jones revealed that she drew on her own life when portraying a British prime minister in the new Netflix thriller, Hostage.
The 46-year-old actress, known for her roles in Doctor Foster, Vigil and Coronation Street, stars as politician Abigail Dalton, who must choose between her job and her family when her doctor husband is abducted by unknown terrorists while working in French Guiana.
© Des Willie/NetflixSpeaking to HELLO! and other press at a London screening of the new series, Suranne opened up about drawing on her own life in the spotlight when playing Abigail.
"I'm well known, people recognise me," explained the Gentleman Jack star, who shares a nine-year-old son with her screenwriter husband, Laurence Akers.
"I try and keep a private element to my life, but then I do want to show support for the charities I work for. I have a community theatre that I like to give elevation to, so I drew on a lot of that stuff.
"But I wouldn't want to be a prime minister," she added.
© Des Willie/NetflixSuranne also visited the House of Commons to watch Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) during her research for the character.
"We got to walk the halls, we got to meet the speaker, we got to feel the in-house politics. When we came to our own set and recreating it, it gave me a sense of who Abigail is to the world through the lens of that particular setup of PMQs, which actually is a strange thing because it's like a snippet of the job and and things have to be answered very quickly.
© Des Willie/Netflix"But it really helped me with who she's perceived to be and then who she is within the family unit, and then with her husband," continued Abigail. "It gave me very clear lines to draw the character, and then towards the end they all get muddled up because she doesn't know what she's doing."
What is Hostage about?
Penned by Matt Charman (Bridge of Spies, Treason) and executive produced by Suranne Jones, the series follows two political leaders who are forced into a fierce rivalry when the British Prime Minister's husband is kidnapped.
"When the British Prime Minister's husband is kidnapped and the visiting French President is blackmailed, the two political leaders both face unimaginable choices," reads the synopsis. "Forced into a fierce rivalry where their political futures, and lives, might hang in the balance, can they work together to uncover the plot that threatens them both?"
HELLO!'s TV Writer Abby Allen said of the show: "If there’s one person you can trust to play the UK’s Prime Minister – and do it well – it’s Suranne Jones. With a stacked list of TV credits from Doctor Foster to Vigil and Scott & Bailey, it’s really no surprise that her portrayal of Abigail Dalton in Hostage makes it one of the most-anticipated thrillers on Netflix this year."
© Kevin Baker/NetflixSuranne stars opposite Julie Delpy (Before Sunrise, 2 Days in Paris), who portrays French President Vivienne Toussaint.
Other cast members include Corey Mylchreest (Queen Charlotte), Lucian Msamati (Gangs of London), Ashley Thomas (The Ipcress File), James Cosmo (Shetland, Braveheart), Martin McCann (Blue Lights) and Jehnny Beth (An Impossible Love).
