Suranne Jones portrays a grieving daughter in ITV’s moving drama Maryland, and she drew on her own tragic experiences of losing both parents.
In the mini-series, Suranne’s character Becca reunites with estranged sister Rosaline (played by Eve Best) after hearing the horrible news that their mum has died.
The drama is an all-too raw look at grief, and how it affects people in different ways. But it’s also a mystery, and is both uplifting and optimistic at times.
It’s arguably one of Suranne‘s most vulnerable performances yet, and this must surely be at least in part attributed to the fact that she too – like her character – has lost her parents.
Suranne Jones plays bereaved daughter Becca in Maryland
Actress Suranne Jones, 44, is best known for playing ballsy Anne Lister in Gentleman Jack, vengeful Gemma in Doctor Foster, and feisty Karen McDonald in Coronation Street.
But viewers will see a new side to the Manchester-born star in ITV’s new drama Maryland. In it, she is a mum-of-two, who is devastated when she discovers that her mum has died.
Even more discombobulating is the fact that Becca’s mum was living a secret double life… The brilliant three-part drama follows Becca, and her estranged sister Rosaline, as they make an uneasy alliance to investigate who their mother really was.
And, as usual, Suranne Jones’ performance deserves all the awards – as does the whole cast’s. So it’s perhaps no surprise that Suranne bought her own personal tragedy into the performance. In fact, Suranne helped create the drama Maryland with Hullraisers scriptwriter Anne-Marie O’Connor.
Suranne Jones lost both parents within five years
While Maryland isn’t based on any real events in Suranne’s life, the actress did draw on genuine experiences from her past.
Talking to The Times, Suranne reveals her own battle with grief helped prepare her for the role of Becca. Like her character, Suranne took time off school when her mother developed breast cancer. Tragically, in 2016, Suranne’s mum, who had dementia, died.
Four years later, in November 2020, Suranne received a call from her 70-year-old father telling her he had Covid. He spent three months in intensive care and she couldn’t visit him. He died in January 2021, with Suranne and her brother Gary saying goodbye in full PPE.
Talking ahead of the Maryland start date, Suranne said: “Obviously I lost my father during Covid. The weight of [that] has really kind of lasted.”
Suranne Jones on death of parents
Talking about any possible similarities between her Maryland character Becca, and herself, Suranne said: “I’ve experienced a lot of death. I’ve experienced a lot of sickness. My mum had Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, she had an aneurysm. There are lots of themes in Maryland that relate to my life but aren’t specifically the same.”
Talking to press including ED! recently, Suranne Jones elaborated on the theme. She said: “I know grief. I’ve lost both my parents. I know sickness and I know care.
“A huge part of our conversation [with Maryland] was what that is to someone. And this show doesn’t deal with it quickly. But there’s humour in it.
“It’s not an easy ride. Knowing sickness, knowing illness, knowing grief, knowing death, was a huge part of it and we’re proud of how that turned out.”
Read more: Maryland: ITV confirms start date for brilliant new drama starring Suranne Jones
Maryland starts on Monday, May 22, 2023 at 9pm on ITV. It continues on Tuesday, May 23, and concludes on Wednesday, May 24. All episodes will be available on ITVX.
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