SURANNE JONES has hinted at a new turning point in her career by making a documentary about witches.
The award-winning actress is teaming up with Channel 4 for the one-off special, which is a passion project for the star, fascinated by all things supernatural.
It’s a real change from her usual dramatic roles, but Doctor Foster’s favorite is thrilled to be stepping into something new.
A TV insider said: “Suranne is lucky to choose her work because she is so box office.
“She’s always been keen on making documentaries, so what better way to start than to dive into a subject that has always interested her.
“Suranne knows she’s not alone and thinks there’s a huge audience out there ready to swallow this kind of content. She will film in the UK and US, exploring real life witches as well as notorious witches from history.
Titled Suranne Jones: Witch Hunt, the documentary is set to air later this year.
The former Coronation Street star has previously admitted his obsession with books about fantasy and the supernatural.
She explains, “Give me witches, wizards and vampires anytime. My husband bought me the first Harry Potter the other day.
“He said, ‘I can’t believe you’re reading all these fantastic books and you’ve never read Harry Potter.'”
The Manchester-born star also spent his childhood summers at the Headland Hotel in Cornwall, filming location for the 1990 film The Witches, based on the classic children’s book by Roald Dahl.
“I couldn’t take the pressure”
Making documentaries is clearly more to her liking than competing on Strictly Come Dancing, whose bosses have tried to tempt her into making another kind of career move.
She says, “I love watching Strictly, but I don’t think I can handle the pressure. The professionals are so amazing and that’s what makes it so wonderful to watch.
Too bad, she would love Halloween week.
Draw, Stephen
STEPHEN HENDRY has indeed been snooked by his adventures on The Masked Singer.
The seven-time Scottish world snooker champion, unmasked as trash on Saturday night, has been fined for withdrawing from tournaments while the ITV show hosted by Joel Dommett was on.
He says, “I couldn’t tell them why, because this recording was in progress. I just said, ‘I can’t play’. It was weird, you’re dying to say it. . . ”
He admits he was worried about embarrassing himself on the show, as his only experience was performing at karaoke bars, so he enlisted vocal coach Mark De-Lisser.
He adds, “I’m not saying I’m a great singer, but I’m better than I thought. (Mark) messaged me after Saturday and joked that the Christmas album was on the way, but, yeah, I was kidding. It’s not going to happen.”
It would suck.
KATHERINE RYAN and Phil Wang have joined the Graham Norton Variety Show lineup.
The live show at London’s O2 on March 3 is part of the Just For Laughs festival and also features Joe Lycett and Jayde Adams.
Tickets on jfllondon.com.
Iain: My acting mistake
BEFORE he started poking fun at Love Islanders, narrator Iain Stirling took a break from his children’s TV career.
But the Scottish comedian has now told how he almost missed that previous opportunity.
Iain Stirlling has taken a break from his children’s TV career[/caption]
Iain said: “I was in a comedy club in London and a drunk woman came up to me after a gig saying she wanted me to be a children’s presenter.
“I didn’t do a kid-friendly stand-up – that was pretty rude – so I thought she was joking and ignored her.”
Speaking to Radio Times, he added: “A few days later the Comedy Store phoned me and said this woman was from the BBC and actually wanted my details. I auditioned and got the job.
Iain presented on CBBC between 2009 and 2013, appearing alongside puppet Hacker T. Dog.
Now he only talks about the muppets on ITV2.
The DERRY Girls could bow out with a gong crowd at the National Comedy Awards on February 17.
The Channel 4 hit, which ended last year after three runs, has multiple names including Best Scripted and Outstanding Actress.
Vote before the awards show at thenationalcomedyawards.com.
