Gentleman Jack
BBC/HBO, 2019–22
BAFTA nominated series set in Yorkshire, 1834, where all eyes are on landowner and industrialist Anne Lister and local heiress 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, Lister’s entrepreneurial spirit frightens the locals as much as her unconventional love life. With Halifax on the brink of revolution, her refusal to keep a low profile becomes provocative and dangerous.
Created by BAFTA winning writer Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax) with cast including Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster, Scott & Bailey), Sophie Rundle (Peaky Blinders, Bodyguard), Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones, Upstart Crow) and Ben Hunter (Doctor Who, Johnny Raikou).
Lead Intimacy Coordinator
Ita O’Brien for Intimacy On Set
“I was quite nervous about the sex scenes we had to do, because I thought they should be approached as sensitively as they could be. One of the great things she [Ita] brought was an articulacy – we could talk about the scenes. She just started talking about body parts and positions in a matter of fact way, which just liberated us all. As well as helping us sculpt the sex scenes, the positions, she’s also there to provide support to the artists.” (Suranne Jones)
Mail Online, 10 May 2019
“As such, she [Sally Wainwright]hired an intimacy coach to talk the actors through each step of the process during both series — something Jones and Rundle remain grateful for. ‘We were one of the first [programmes] to use an intimacy co-ordinator..,’ Jones remarks. ‘It helps me and Sophie feel the freedom to tell the story and find the beauty in the work. It was really important and integral to us, especially when Sophie was pregnant.’”
Bustle, 25 April 2022
