With the second series of BBC One’s acclaimed Gentleman Jack starting this Sunday, here’s a rundown of what we know so far! But first, a quick recap of where we’d left our favourite historical wives.
What Happened in Series 1?
Based on the coded diaries of Anne Lister, a 19th-century landholder from Halifax, the first series of Gentleman Jack begins with a broken-hearted Anne (Suranne Jones) returning to Shibden Hall to make her fortune, much to her family’s apprehension. Taking on the Rawson brothers, (Shaun Dooley and Vincent Franklin) who have been stealing from her, will she continue to risk it all to outsmart them?
A caring landlord with bucket-loads of confidence, Anne (or Gentleman Jack) tries to hold her own against all of Halifax’s gossip about her ‘masculine ways’. This is only amplified when rumours circulate about the true nature of her relationship with Ann Walker.
The timidWalker (Sophie Rundle) is isolated in the world. With her extended family purely concerned about the wealth she sits upon, she’s anxious about being preyed upon. Whilst Anne starts off purely interested in Walker’s fortune, things quickly take a romantic turn. Ann’s resistance to her homosexuality is encouraged by her family, drastically affecting her mental health Sent to Scotland to recover with her sister (Katherine Kelly), her family scheme to marry her off to her brother-in-law, Captain Sutherland. Eventually, she returns to Halifax at the word of her aunt’s declining health and realises her love for Anne, agreeing to marry her.
In the final episode, the two hijacked a Sunday service to secretly take the sacrament, and ended series one in happily wedded bliss.
What’s In Store for Series Two of Gentleman Jack?
Writer Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley, The Last Tango in Halifax) has teased to Digital Spy that their wedded bliss may not last long: ‘They move into Shibden together in series two and it’s about how they negotiate their married life, conspicuously in public, and how they deal with their detractors and the effect that has on their relationship as well.’
Relationship trouble continues for the pair with the return of Anne Lister’s ex-lover, Mariana, declaring in the series trailer that: ‘I’m not the other woman. [Ann] is.’
Joining the cast of Gentleman Jack is Joanna Scanlan (The Larkins) as Isabella Norcliffe, another of Lister’s exes who will undoubtedly shove a spanner in the works.
Although this seems dramatic enough for the couple, the trailer hints at business trouble for our Gentleman Jack, as the Rawson brothers are hell-bent on getting one over her after the last series.
Of course, our beloved Anne & Ann are returning for the series, but who else? According to Radio Times, the whole Lister family! Timothy West returns as Anne’s father, Gemma Whelan as her bewildered sister, and their loved aunt, Gemma Jones. Other familiar faces are also set to reappear, so keep a close eye.
Tune in at 9 pm Sunday, April 10 for the first episode of the eight-part series!
