Suranne Jones has hinted at what fans can expect from the rest of ‘Doctor Foster’ series two, revealing there will be a constant “shift” in who the viewer believes the real villain is.
It seems the second run of the hit BBC drama will explore more of Gemma Foster’s dark side - something which was hinted at in the closing moments of episode one.
Fans saw Suranne’s character dissolve her wedding ring in acid, after her ex-husband Simon revealed his plan to drive her out of town, and managed to turn their son Tom against her, persuading him to come and live with him.
And while the series will step up several gears over the next four episodes, it seems we won’t always be siding with Gemma, as Suranne explained her hurt over her husband’s affair in series one, has now turned into anger.
“What continues in the rest of the episodes is the shift,” Suranne told HuffPost UK and other journalists at a screening of the first episode.
“They can be unlikeable people and what betrayal does to a person can make them ugly. As long as they’re not ugly at the same time, we’re quite safe, because you have to be on someone’s side... but Gemma doesn’t behave well.”
She continued: “Before she did that through hurt, and now she’s channelled her anger, as we saw when the wedding ring was dissolved. It becomes dark and twisted.
“She doesn’t believe in redemption for [Simon], but that’s the beauty of our story.”
While the first series appeared to end relatively happily, writer Mike Bartlett also explained how he always hoped a second series would allow him to tell the next chapter in Gemma and Simon’s story.
“After we finished shooting series one, I was looking at that final scene and there was just a hint of something to the future there where Tom looks at a picture of a woman without any clothes on in a comic, and it hints at the consequences of what he’s been through.
“The more I looked at the ending, and while it was happy, the more threads there were untied and when it went out, people asked if Gemma really got justice. It feels like the audience felt like I did, that there was more to tell.”
Asked if there is scope for a third series, he refused to be drawn, laughing: “It sort of depends what happens in this series really, so you’ll have to wait and see what happens...”
‘Doctor Foster’ continues next Tuesday (12 September) at 9pm on BBC One.