Suranne Jones (born Sarah Anne Jones; 27 August 1978) is an English stage and television actress, and television producer. Her first prominent television role was the character Karen McDonald, introduced to the ITV1 soap opera Coronation Street in 2001. This role garnered her significant public attention and accolades including a National Television Award and two British Soap Awards for Best Actress. She left the series in 2004 and furthered her acting career in numerous television drama series, including Vincent (2005-06), Strictly Confidential (2006), Harley Street (2008), Five Days (2010) and Single Father (2010). Her turn as convicted murderer Ruth Slater in the mini-series Unforgiven (2009) was noted by industry peers as a breakthrough role for Jones, who felt that the mini-series gave her more "credibility".
Between 2011 and 2016 Jones starred as lead character Detective Rachel Bailey in the police procedural Scott & Bailey, a drama developed from an original idea conceived by Jones and actress Sally Lindsay. Jones was executive producer for the fifth and final series in 2016. Subsequent television portrayals include a human personification of the iconic TARDIS in a 2011 episode of science fiction series Doctor Who, Sister Joan Livesy in World War One drama The Crimson Field (2014) and as Gemma Foster, a successful GP who suffers personal betrayal in Doctor Foster (2015-). Her performance in Doctor Foster earned Jones several awards including a Broadcasting Press Guild award and the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress in 2016.