THE WITCHING HOUR
It’s spellbinding stuff as Suranne Jones delves into the history of witch trials. RICHARD JONES learns more
Ever since she spent her childhood summers at the Headland Hotel in Cornwall – the location for 1990 film The Witches, based on Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book – Suranne Jones has been obsessed with all things supernatural.
So, although her new two-part show for Channel 4 may appear an unusual move for the Greater Manchester-born Bafta-winning actress, it is somewhat of a passion project for the former Corrie star.
Suranne Jones: Investigating Witch
Trials, sees the 45-year-old star of Vigil, Doctor Foster and Gentleman Jack team up with her husband Laurence Akers to investigate some of the most infamous witch trials in history.
She wants to find out why so many women were accused of witchcraft and what their story means today.
Speaking to OK! (ok.co.uk), Suranne explained: “I’ve always loved literature on folklore, fairy tales, witches and vampires. When I got married, my husband was always saying, ‘Is that another witch book that you’re reading?’ So, when we started our production company, he wrote a brilliant treatment for me and sent it off and the next thing we knew, it was commissioned.”
Suranne begins her trip about 25 miles from her birthplace of Oldham, in Pendle, Lancashire, where she uncovers the real story behind one of the most notorious mass executions for witchcraft in English history.
The witch trials, which took place there in 1612, saw 12 people accused, two of whom were men.
Speaking to historians, she concludes that she would likely have been considered a witch in the 17th century, having several traits that were once said to indicate a dark nature.
“I wouldn’t have survived!,” Suranne told OK!. “I’m a creative, I’m outspoken, I change my look all the time, I tell stories, I love animals… I mean, it sounds mad, doesn’t it? I’m perimenopausal, so that’s not going to wash well because surely you’re a witch if you’re sweating too much!” From Lancashire, Suranne flies over to Bamberg in southern Germany, the epicentre of the brutal witch trials that swept through Europe 400 years ago. She finds out more about the shadow this historical horror story has cast over women’s lives for hundreds of years, and how some women are now reclaiming the title ‘witch’.
In next week’s concluding part, Suranne’s investigation takes her to the US and the site of the most infamous witch trials of all – the Massachusetts town of Salem.
Then, the star, who is due to play a British prime minister in new Netflix drama The Choice, discovers how the phrase ‘witch hunt’ is being used today by powerful men like Donald Trump to paint themselves as victims.
And as the conditions which led to the witch trials in Europe and the US centuries ago are still part of our lives, Suranne asks whether history could repeat itself.