It’s almost been two years since the beloved period drama was cancelled. Join us in taking a look at what the cast has been getting up to since
BY NIC CROSARA, IMAGE BY BBC/LOOKOUT POINT
If you’re a longtime DIVA reader, chances are you know we are HUGE Gentleman Jack fans. We’ve gushed over our favourite moments and done recaps of the episodes. We mourned the news when we found out the vital show had been cancelled. We supported the #SaveGentlemanJack campaign and we dedicated a podcast episode to the impact and legacy of the series.
We’re OBSESSED with the phenomenal cast who bought this story to life onscreen. If that sounds like you too, join us in checking in on what the cast have been upto since saying goodbye to the show.
Suranne Jones (Anne Lister)
Suranne Jones did a phenomenal job at bringing the real-life historical lesbian legend to life. I’ll never forget how she strode across the screen with her head held high. Since the show came to an end she has starred in the festive film Christmas Carole as well as TV Shows, Maryland and Vigil (the latter where she serves up another WLW ship for us to root for). It was also great to see her be a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
We started 2024 off with a bang by having Suranne as our December/January cover star. She spoke to DIVA about her relationship with the LGBTQIA community, playing queer roles and all about Vigil season two.
She will be part of the upcoming Bluey Book Reads TV series.
Sophie Rundle (Ann Walker)
It was great to see the depth that Sophie brought to Ann through her performance. She had spectacular onscreen chemistry onscreen with Suranne and it’s truly a tragedy that we won’t get to see more hillside kisses between these two.
Since the cancellation of the show, Sophie has portrayed Laura Simmonds on Netflix’s The Diplomat and PC Joanna Marshall on a new series this year, After The Flood. We cannot wait to see what the Peaky Blinders star does next.
Lydia Leonard (Mariana Lawton)
Lydia perfectly portrayed Anne’s scorned ex-lover Mariana. The love triangle in season two kept all us viewers on our toes.
Since the end of Gentleman Jack, we’ve gotten to see Lydia portray Sarah in Northern Comfort, Rachel in The Rabbi’s Son short film and Cherie Clair in Netflix’s The Crown.
She’s set to play Lady Jane Rochford in an upcoming series titled Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light which is due to be released later this year.
Gemma Whelan (Marian Lister)
Beloved by fans for portraying Anne’s little sister, the actor has had an impressive career. She’s starred in Game Of Thrones, Killing Eve, Emma, Doctor Who, The End Of The F***ing World and The Crown.
Since saying goodbye to playing Marian Lister, we’ve seen her in Horrible Histories, D.I. Ray and The Tower. She has a couple of untitled projects in the work so we can’t wait to see more of her on our screens.
Gemma Jones (Aunt Anne Lister)
We loved seeing all the scenes shared between the two Anne Listers. We have sorely missed seeing these two share a screen. It’s notably not the first time she’s portrayed the role onscreen either. In the 2010 TV movie, The Secret Diaries Of Miss Anne Lister, she portrayed dear Aunt Lister.
Since saying goodbye to the role for a second time, she’s starred as Aunt Branwell in the 2022 film Emily and as Victoria Swan in the 2023 film Wicked Little Letters. We’ve also seen her take on the role Agnes Savile in two episodes of The Reckoning.
Her next project, Blue, should be coming out soon. We can’t wait to see her portray Anna.
Timothy West (Jeremy Lister)
And lastly, we shall certainly miss seeing Jeremy Lister looking flustered as he tries to keep up with Anne’s adventures. He’s had an impressive career as an actor and since Gentleman Jack’s end he’s portrayed Adolf Hitler in a short film, and Charles Usher in one episode of Sister Boniface Mysteries.
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