A Cruel Story: Ruth Ellis filming locations as new ITV show debuts
The new ITV drama A Cruel Story: The Ruth Ellis Story centres on the life of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in Britain. Set in 1955, the four-part series explores the glamorous world of London's club scene, where Ruth gained recognition as the city's youngest club manager.
The drama follows Ruth's (Lucy Boynton) tumultuous relationship with racing driver David Blakely (Laurie Davidson), which ultimately turned abusive and led to his murder. Ruth was arrested, charged, and sentenced to death by hanging.
On July 13, 1955, at 9:01 am, 28 year old Ruth Ellis was executed. Filming for the crime drama took place across Britain in 2023, incorporating numerous historic locations connected to Ruth Ellis' real-life story.
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Where did the filming take place for A Cruel Story: The Ruth Ellis Story?
The production team shot scenes in London, Kent, Dorset, and other areas in late 2023. Specific locations included the Magdala pub in Hampstead, which was closed for three days in October 2023 for filming.
Other London locations featured the corridors of the Old Bailey and the former magistrates' court where Ellis appeared after shooting her lover. Lucy Boynton, who plays Ruth Ellis, mentioned that standing in the same dock as her character was a powerful experience that influenced her performance.
She stated, "The days I filmed in court were very intense because for legal reasons obviously, and for accuracy, all dialogue is verbatim from the court transcripts.
"So we got a totally vivid experience of what that trial was like. How frustrating it was to sit through the misinformation and misrepresentation of Ruth's experience.
"Because Blakely was a member of the upper class it was deemed inappropriate to talk about his ugly behaviour, so none of the physical and emotional abuse he inflicted was mentioned, and therefore the case was entirely imbalanced and Ruth misrepresented."
In October 2023, Dorchester Prison in Dorset served as a filming location for the ITV drama. The 'B Wing Hanging Shed' was fully closed off for shooting, with one cell designated as Ruth's cell.
Filming also occurred at the entrance to The Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent, which stood in for the entrance to Holloway Prison. A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story is based on Carol Ann Lee's highly praised biography A Fine Day for Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story.
It has been adapted by Kelly Jones (The Long Call, Des, Baptiste) and produced by the critically acclaimed Silverprint Pictures, known for Shetland, Vera and Flesh and Blood. Kelly Jones penned all four scripts, and Angie Daniell (World On Fire, Vigil, The Long Call) is the series producer.
Lee Haven Jones (Passenger, Feast, The Long Call) directs all four episodes.
A Cruel Love The Ruth Ellis Story debuted at 9pm on Wednesday, March 5 on ITV1 and ITVX. All episodes will be available on ITVX.
