The high-profile life of nightclub manager Ruth Ellis who shot her racing driver lover exposed the British obsession with class and sex.
Her equally public death eventually led to the introduction of diminished responsibility as a legal defence and set the UK on the path to ending capital punishment.
A new ITV drama A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story explores not only the trial of the 28-year-old but also the journey of the single mother who worked her way up to running one of the city’s top clubs.
Based on Carol Ann Lee’s biography A Fine Day for Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story and adapted by Kelly Jones, the mini-series chronicles Ruth’s story from shooting David Blakely to the moments before her death.
Antonia Gordon, one of the executive producers, said: “We wanted to make sure that alongside the tragic elements of the story, we dramatised what an incredible woman Ruth was, despite her flaws, and how ahead of her time she was.
“So with our dual timeline approach Kelly has beautifully portrayed the nuance of Ruth’s story, the light and the shade.”
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story tells the hidden tale of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged for murder in the UK.
Set in 1955 in the glamorous and intoxicating world of London clubland, Ruth found huge acclaim as the capital’s youngest club manager at the age of 28.
Born into poverty, she had worked hard to reach that position while also being a single parent.
But her success soon unravelled as she became involved in an abusive relationship with racing driver David Blakely.
Trapped in a love-triangle and facing the prospect of losing everything she had struggled to gain, she took matters into her own hands with devastating consequences.
As her trial for murder unfolds, flashbacks to her past reveal her rise to success and the relationships which defined her before an the eleventh-hour attempt to save her.
Who is in the cast of A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story?
Lucy Boynton stars as Ruth Ellis. (Photo: Des Willie/Silverprint Pictures/ITV Studios)
Lucy Boynton stars as nightclub manager Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the UK.
Speaking about the role, she said: “The case itself is shocking, but she’s such an interesting character to be at the centre of it.
“She’s a contradiction in so many ways.
“And her colourful character against the backdrop of WW2 and then the 50s was just fascinating.”
British-American actress Boynton, 31, has starred in a number of major films including Murder on the Orient Express, Bohemian Rhapsody, Chevalier and Barbie.
On television, she has had leading roles in Gypsy, The Politician, The Ipcress File and Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
Laurie Davidson
Laurie Davidson plays racing driver David Blakely (Photo Des Willie/ Silverprint Pictures/ITV Studios)Laurie Davidson plays racing driver David Blakely, who is Ruth’s lover.
Discussing his character, he said: “It’s quite interesting that David was partof the social upper-class and yet he was still interested in Ruth.
“I think he was able to put his head above the parapet in a way and out of his social circle and be more interested in what she had to offer.
“But he was a man of contradictions and then when alcohol comes into play it’s a disaster.
“They partied a lot and then they suffered from a huge hangover effect.
“I think he was an immature person and they just had a really toxic relationship.”
Davidson, 32, played William Shakespeare in the television series Will, George in the US drama Guilty Party and Dylan in The Road Trip.
He also starred as Mr. Mistoffelees in the film-version of the musical Cats.
Toby Jones takes on the role of solicitor John Bickford (Photo: Des Willie/Silverprint Pictures/ITV Studios)
Toby Jones takes on the role of Ruth’s solicitor John Bickford in the drama.
The actor said: “He was the solicitor that Ruth Ellis first went to when she was charged with the murder of David Blakely.
“It was Bickford’s job to try and find some mitigating circumstances but his struggle was that he couldn’t persuade her to change her plea from guilty to not guilty.
“He wrestled with this and he tried to get her to use the domestic violence that she’d suffered as a mitigating factor but she wouldn’t do that until it was too late.”
Jones, 58, starred as campaigner Alan Bates in the pivotal ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office last year.
He is the voice of Dobby in the Harry Potter films, played Truman Capote in Infamous and Claudius Templesmith in the Hunger Games movies.
And he won a Bafta Award for his role as Lance Stater in the comedy series The Detectorists.
Nigel Havers
Nigel Havers plays Justice Havers in the series (Photo: Des Willie/Silverprint Pictures/ITV Studios)Nigel Havers plays his own grandfather Sir Cecil Havers, who was the judge in Ruth’s murder trial.
The British actor, 73, has appeared in films such as Chariots of Fire, A Passage to India, Empire of the Sun, The Whistle Blower and The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.
On television, he has also starred in Nicholas Nickleby, Don’t Wait Up, The Charmer, Dangerfield, Coronation Street and The Gentlemen.
The cast of A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story also includes:
Mark Stanley as Desmond Cussen (Trigger Point, The Reckoning) Toby Stephens as Melford Stevenson QC (Die Another Day, Lost in Space) Arthur Darvill is Victor Mishcon (Broadchurch, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) Joe Armstrong as DCI Leslie Davis (Gentleman Jack, The Bay) Juliet Stevenson as Dr Charity Taylor (Bend It Like Beckham, Truly, Madly, Deeply) Bessie Carter as Carole Findlater (Bridgerton, I Hate Suzie) Ed Sayer as Anthony Findlater (The Crown, Pennyworth) Audrey Brisson as Jacqueline Dyer (Outlander, Halo) Amanda Drew as Bertha (The Gold, The Outlaws) Jack Staddon as Clive Gunnell (Harlots, House of the Dragon) Adam Lawrence as DI Peter Gill (Doctors, Peaky Blinders) Tony Wadham as Arthur Neilson (The Bill, Peep Show)Filming for A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story took place on location and at the Troubadour Meridian Water Studios in Enfield, north London in the autumn of 2023.
Crews used the exact location where Ruth shot David Blakely, outside The Magdala Tavern at Hampstead Heath, to recreate the scene for the series.
And the gateway to The Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent doubled as the entrance to Holloway Prison.
Dorset also played a part in the filming for the show, with the former men’s prison in Dorchester used for the interior shots of Ruth in her cell.
Filming for the series took place in London, Kent and Dorset (Photo: Des Willie/Silverprint Pictures/ITV Studios)The show was filmed in the autumn of 2023 (Photo: Des Willie/Silverprint Pictures/ITV Studios)When is A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story on and how many episodes are there?
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story begins on ITV on Wednesday 5 March at 9pm.
A four-part series , the remaining episodes will be aired on successive Wednesdays at the same time.
The entire series can also be streamed on ITVX.
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