Town sparkles as TV stars hit red carpet
STARS OF the TV hit Gentleman Jack walked the red carpet in Halifax for the premiere of the show’s second series.
Suranne Jones, who plays trailblazer Anne Lister, was among those in attendance, alongside the popular drama’s creator Sally Wainwright.
Fans gathered in Halifax’s Piece Hall to welcome the show’s cast on Tuesday night. A screening event followed at the town’s Square Chapel, ahead of the new series from Sunday April 10.
Jones returns as Lister, the
Halifax industrialist, diarist and landowner, who is regarded as “the first modern lesbian”.
Anne Lister, born in 1791, kept an extensive diary, writing in great detail about her private affairs using a code of her own devising.
Sally Wainwright said: “For too long Anne Lister has been Halifax’s best kept secret and
I’m thrilled that Gentleman Jack has helped her finally get the global recognition she deserves. “It’s wonderful that we’re able to show fans the next part of her story in the heart of this town which was so important to her.”
Series two, set in 1834, picks up four weeks after series one ended with all eyes on Lister and Ann Walker as they set up home together at Shibden Hall as wife and wife, determined to combine their estates and become a power couple.
“Season two is more about the marriage and the reality of the marriage,” Jones says. “It’s less about the chase and more about how they’re going to navigate themselves in society.”
Exhibitions, talks and a range of other events run from tomorrow until April 10 for the Anne Lister Birthday Festival.
EVENTS: More on the Anne Lister birthday festival - see Go page 31.