The nation might be hooked to the second series of ‘Doctor Foster’, but its star, Suranne Jones, has admitted she was surprised at just how big the BBC drama has become.
“I know people like a relationship drama with a bit of an edge,” she tells Radio Times. “But really, I had no idea the show would be this big.”
Speaking about her character Gemma Foster’s descent into angry obsession in the second series, the actress says she thinks the drama is “daring and brave”.
“You’re watching a mother of a certain age in a professional position act in a totally different way,” she explains. “You’re getting to see what she really thinks and the hate she feels. It’s a completely different story to the first series. It’s about grief. I think that’s why the public love it.”
Not that series one was a walk in the park for Gemma, who discovered her husband was having an affair, something she thinks viewers wanted to see her get revenge for.
She adds: “I mean, God! She thought she was happily married. She’s got a son and a whole life that she thought existed, and her husband had been sleeping with someone for two years and then went off and got her pregnant.
“Gemma was left with this sexual energy, this: ‘Hang on a minute, I thought everything was fine!’ And all of her friends knew about it. It’s a horrendous situation. You want her to get revenge.”
And revenge is exactly what she’s serving in the second outing, something that has resonated with viewers who have gone through similar experiences in their marriages.
“[People] are coming up to me in the street. They feel this show understands the situation. The second series is shocking and it’s heart-breaking,” she says.
“I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of something else like Doctor Foster but I just can’t. There have been films, Kramer vs Kramer and The War of the Roses, but there’s been nothing like this on TV before.”
‘Doctor Foster’ continues on Tuesdays at 9pm on BBC One. Read the full interview with Suranne Jones in this week’s Radio Times, on sale now. www.radiotimes.com