Suranne Jones plays bisexual detective chief inspector Amy Silva in BBC drama Vigil. (Getty)

Suranne Jones returned to screens this month in series three of BBC military drama Vigil, in which she plays bisexual detective chief inspector Amy Silva.

Over three series, Vigil has developed a popular relationship between Jones’ character and detective sergeant Kirsten Longacre (played by Rose Leslie), offering a vital portrayal of sapphic romance on primetime TV.

Lister was a 19th-century diarist and lesbian who documents her dangerous romantic rendezvous through cryptic code.

After her stellar performances both roles landed her such a devoted following, Jones pledged to portray more queer characters on-screen in the future.

Speaking to The Independent about the adoration that people have for Gentleman Jack, which was sadly cancelled after two seasons, Jones said: “I had played gay and bisexual characters before, but with Gentleman Jack, people started writing to me personally. 

“I felt like I was invited to be a true ally, which I took very seriously, and I absolutely loved that role and what it did for people.”

She said of playing a bisexual character in police procedural series Vigil: “We’ve given Vigil a very real feel of two women who are defined by their careers, and the difficulty that brings to a relationship, where they have one child and they are bringing another into the mix. 

“And we do it in a big, ballsy show, where there are lots of bombs going off. My next few characters are not lesbians, but I’ll be back with some more, I’m sure.”

Vigil continues tonight (14 September) at 9pm on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.

Please login or register to comment on this story.