First look at Suranne Jones as prime minister in Netflix project Hostage

By Casey Cooper-Fiske, PA Entertainment Reporter

New pictures show actress Suranne Jones playing a fictional British prime minister in her first Netflix project, Hostage, on which she will also be an executive producer.

Jones, 46, will star in the five-part thriller, written by Matt Charman, alongside Julie Delpy, who will play a fictional French president, when it is released on the streaming platform on August 21.

Jones said of the show: “I’m thrilled to be on Netflix, in something I’m really proud of. It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

“We’d talked about projects previously, but for me it was about finding the right thing. Hostage was perfect – me and Matt together backed up by this brilliant, supportive team. I loved it.”

The series will see Jones’s character’s husband kidnapped, and Delpy’s visiting French president blackmailed, leaving the two leaders to face unimaginable choices.

The show will see the duo forced into a fierce rivalry where their political futures, and lives, might hang in the balance, as they are forced to work together to uncover the plot that threatens them both.

Writer Charman said of the show: “I’ve been dying to find the right story to tell with Suranne and I honestly believe what she’s done with this character is going to blow the Netflix audience away.

“An embattled British PM in the middle of a fight for her country and her family – she’s fierce, ruthless and you can’t take your eyes off of her.”

Jones rose to fame playing Karen McDonald on ITV soap Coronation Street, and the actress is due to star in the third series of BBC police drama Vigil, which is being filmed this year with a release date yet to be announced.