If you watch one thing this week, make it ITV's A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story
From Miss Austen to Riot Women and more, there's some great telly coming to screens this year – and now, there's another new TV show to add to your watch list as A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story has just arrived on ITV.
Starring Lucy Boynton as the historic titular character, the four-part series follows the true story of the nightclub manageress and last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom following the fatal shooting of her lover, David Blakely.
The period drama is set to grip audiences with its heartbreaking real-life inspiration, so from the cast to release date and more, here is everything you need to know about A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story.
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story: Release date
It's out now! A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story has been confirmed to air at 9pm on Wednesday 5 March on on ITV1, but you can also watch all four episodes on ITVX now. US viewers can watch it on BritBox.
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story: Cast
Lucy Boynton, known for playing Mary Austin in Bohemian Rhapsody, takes the lead as Ruth Ellis in the period drama. Toby Jones is in a supporting role as her solicitor John Bickford, who gradually realises the extent of Ruth's abuse at the hands of David Blakely and takes on the fight to make the case for provocation.
Laurie Davidson plays Blakely, while Mark Stanley stars as Desmond Cusson, Ruth's admirer and sometime lover who frequents the Little Club and becomes entangled in a toxic love triangle with Ruth and Blakely.
Other notable roles include:
Joe Armstrong as DCI Davies, the detective in charge of Ruth’s case
Arthur Darvill as Victor Mishcon, Ruth’s charismatic divorce lawyer who took up the fight for her reprieve
Juliet Stevenson as Dr Charity Taylor, Governess of Holloway Prison
Toby Stephens as Ruth’s defence barrister, Melford Stevenson QC.
Nigel Havers as Judge Havers
Speaking about what drew her to the role, Boynton said: 'To my shame I didn't know the full extent of Ruth Ellis's story. I started asking those around me about her, and everyone had such a strong reaction, whether they remembered the case themselves or whether they’d read about it, it was really interesting to see her name be so evocative of emotional response.
'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.
'I thought the scripts were brilliant, in how they handled her not as a villain or a hero, just as a very pointedly honest portrayal of events and this young woman at the centre of this storm. I was stunned not only by the story itself but by how much of it wasn't public knowledge at the time — and how much the story has been deliberately shaped, and important details neglected, to portray a certain version of events.'
Kate Bartlett, Executive Producer for Silverprint Pictures, who have made the new TV show, has described Lucy's performance as "absolutely mesmerizing", so we really can't wait to watch this.
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story: Plot
Based on Carol Ann Lee's acclaimed biography, A Fine Day for Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story, and adapted for the screen by Kelly Jones, ITV has described its new drama as "a compelling legal and emotional rollercoaster".
The official plot synopsis is as follows: "A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story tells the hidden story of Ruth Ellis and exposes the timeless British obsessions of class, sex and death.
"Set in 1955 in the glamorous and intoxicating world of London club-land, Ruth found huge acclaim, aged 28, as the capital's youngest club manager.
"But her success soon unraveled as she became entwined in an abusive relationship with racing driver David Blakely. On trial for his murder, Ruth was condemned to hang by a system which judged her for far more than her crime."
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story will delve into the mystery of what drove this deeply troubled young woman to kill in cold blood. Told over two parallel timelines, it will reveal harrowing secrets about the case which have remained in the dark for decades, posing big questions about what really happened in the months leading up to the murder.
"There was more to this crime of passion than Ruth was prepared to say," ITV said. "Her silence, and resistance to speak of what happened between her and dashing racing driver, Blakely, is far more complex than she admitted.
"Ruth's solicitor, the low-status but intelligent and sensitive John Bickford (Toby Jones), starts to realise some of what she has suffered and believes they must make a case for provocation. With stakes that could not be higher – literally life or death – Bickford begins his own investigation and uncovers details that could have saved her life, had those facts been aired in court."
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story: First-look pictures
First-look pictures released by ITV earlier this year show stunning costumes, makeup and cinematography, taking us straight back to the glamorous mid-century period in which A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story is set. Here's a little glimpse at what you can expect from the new TV series of the moment...
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story: What happened to her daughter?
Ruth Ellis' daughter Georgie wrote a memoir about her mother's life titled Ruth Ellis, My Mother: A Daughter's Memoir of the Last Woman to be Hanged. The book was released in 1995, forty years on from her mother's death, and gives an intimate insight into Ruth Ellis' life, supported by family anecdotes and photographs.
Georgie's life was said to have mirrored her nightclub manageress mother's in many ways, seeking the bright lights of the entertainment industry. She is said to have had relationships with celebrities including George Best, Richard Harris and property tycoon David Beard who was the father of her two youngest children. In 2001, Georgie died aged 50 of cancer after a long illness.
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