New ‘Gentleman Jack’ film in development
A NEW feature film about the life of Yorkshire landowner Anne Lister is in development following the cancellation of BBC series Gentleman Jack.
Georgian industrialist and samesex marriage pioneer Lister came to global attention when actress Suranne Jones, inset, took the lead role in the joint BBC and HBO production, which ran for two series between 2019 and 2022 before it was not renewed for a third season due to HBO withdrawing funding, reportedly due to poor ratings in the US.
The period drama was filmed entirely in Yorkshire, with many scenes shot in Calderdale, where Lister lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries at her family’s ancestral home, Shibden Hall.
The new project was announced by Anne Choma, who was a lead adviser to the BBC for Gentleman Jack and has transcribed Lister’s diaries, which formed the basis for the script.
Choma met with screenwriter and producer Jennifer van Gessel and Anne Lister Birthday Weekend festival organiser Pat Esgate at Langton Hall, another Yorkshire country house with close connections to Lister. Writing on X, Choma said: “Yesterday we made the announcement that a new Anne Lister feature film, called Langton, is currently in development. Backed by Screen Australia and written by Jennifer van Gessel, this is an exciting gothic retelling of Lister’s life. Proud to be on board.”
Esgate added: “It’s amazing the detail Anne Choma can pull out at any given moment, regarding any given day in Anne Lister’s life, and Jen’s a very talented writer – I can’t wait till it hits the screen.”
Langton Hall was one of the filming locations for the second series of Gentleman Jack, which featured Lister’s relationship with Isabella Norcliffe, whose wealthy family owned the estate. The Grade IIlisted Georgian house was where Lister stayed after they met in 1810, occupying the South Wing.
She was introduced to Isabella through an earlier friend and lover, Eliza Raine, whom she had met at the Manor School in York. As the Norcliffes were landed gentry and the Listers’ wealth came from trade, Anne Lister became fascinated with the family, who had inherited Langton Hall three years earlier.