Fans Are Just Discovering Vigil Star Suranne Jones' Real Name

We’re all hooked on Vigil, the six-part thriller that’s launched on BBC One over the bank holiday weekend.

The series, which stars Gentleman Jack lead (and all-round legend) Suranne Jones and Line of Duty favourite Martin Compston focuses on the mysterious disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler and a death on-board the Trident nuclear submarine HMS Vigil.

Detective Chief Inspector Amy Silva (Suranne Jones) has to investigate the incident, with the police now in stark conflict with the Royal Navy and British security services.

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Naturally, we watch anything with Suranne Jones at the helm – the multi-award winning actor has scooped BAFTAs and Royal Television Society Awards for her standout performances, making shows such as Doctor Foster, Save Me and I Am Victoria unmissable television.

However, while we thought we knew everything we could about Suranne Jones, it turns out there is one thing we were in the dark about – her real name.

Say what?

Yep, Suranne’s name isn’t actually Suranne at all, but rather Sarah-Anne. Who’d have thought it?

Speaking about her unusual moniker in the Herald newspaper in 2008, Suranne explained: “I think my name means ‘princess’. My great gran was called Suranne and when my dad told the priest he wanted to call me Suranne, too, he said: ‘Now, that's not a proper name.’ So I was christened Sarah-Anne.

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“When I got the chance to pick a stage name, my dad asked if I would consider Suranne.”

Yep, Sarah-Anne became Suranne when she decided to sign up to the actors’ union, Equity, only for the name Sarah Jones to be taken. Her father then urged her to choose Suranne, in honour of her great-grandmother.

Having then married in 2014 to former magazine writer and scriptwriter Laurence Akers, Suranne stated in an interview with Vogue that her legal name was now Sarah-Anne Akers.

The more you know…

In other Vigil news, all viewers can talk about is that shock twist just minutes into the first episode.

We won’t spoil it, but be sure to click here to read more…

Vigil continues on BBC One tonight at 9pm.

Topics: BBC, TV And Film

Kimberley Bond

Kim is a journalist at Tyla, and has previously worked at the Evening Standard, Radio Times as well as several national newspapers. A showbiz obsessive and a television fanatic, Kim is particularly interested in celebrity gossip, A-list events and the latest releases on either the big or small screen. Contact her at [email protected]

@0xKimberley