Suranne Jones is set to play another trailblazer. The star of HBO/BBC’s “Gentleman Jack” will star in and produce a series based on the life of five-time female world boxing champion Jane Couch, Deadline reports.
Jones’ TeamAkers Productions banner and “Gentleman Jack” producer Lookout Point optioned Couch’s memoir, “The Final Round.” The book revisits how Couch “went from a tough upbringing in the fishing town of Fleetwood to top boxing venues all over the world at a time when it was still illegal for women to box in the UK. She instigated a legal battle against the UK Boxing Board of Control, who only 20 years ago still insisted women were too psychologically unstable to box,” the source details. “Refusing to be marginalized, Couch teamed up with two other fearless women, her solicitor Sarah Leslie and Dinah Rose QC, and won the case allowing women to box in the UK. She was regularly portrayed by some quarters of the press as a freak and a monster, and was horribly exploited by the people around her.”
Lookout Point’s Faith Penhale and Laura Lankester are developing the book for the small screen alongside Jones and her production partner, Laurence Akers. Neither a writer nor an actress to play Jane have been decided. Jones will co-star.
“As soon as I met Jane, I knew I wanted to tell her story from her perspective and shine a light on this amazing woman who paved the way so others in her position could succeed. TeamAkers cannot wait to get started on developing ‘The Final Round,’ and we’re thrilled to be working with Faith and the team at Lookout Point — we know it’s going to make fantastic television,” said Jones.
Couch added, “After all the struggles I went through in my career, the fights in the ring, with the media, and in the courts, it’s great that my story will be seen by a whole new audience and the people who helped me along the way, like Sarah and Dinah, will get the recognition they deserve. Women’s boxing has come a long way with Katie Taylor and Nicola Adams OBE becoming household names. But there’s still so much more that needs to be done. Hopefully, my story will help.”
“Gentleman Jack” is set in 1832 and sees Jones playing Anne Lister, a Yorkshire diarist, mountaineer, traveler, and landowner who is often been referred to as “the first modern lesbian,” and was nicknamed “Gentleman Jack” in her hometown. The series has been renewed for a second season.
“Save Me,” “Doctor Foster,” and “Scott & Bailey” are among Jones’ other credits.
A story inspired by a female boxer is also hitting the big screen. Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rachel Morrison is set to make her directorial debut with “Flint Strong,” a portrait of 17-year-old Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, a Flint, Michigan, local who dreams of becoming the first-ever American woman to take home an Olympic gold medal for boxing. Ryan Destiny (“Star”) is playing Shields.
