A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story | |
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Genre | Historical drama |
Based on | A Fine Day For Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story by Carol Ann Lee |
Screenplay by | Kelly Jones |
Directed by | Lee Haven Jones |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 4 |
Production | |
Executive producer |
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Producer | Angie Daniell |
Editor | David Fisher |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | ITVX BritBox |
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, [1] [2] originally titled Ruth, is an upcoming, four-part British historical drama television series for ITVX, starring Lucy Boynton as Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in Britain, and Toby Jones as her solicitor John Bickford. It is scheduled to be released in the United States on BritBox in on 17 February 2025.
Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom after the fatal shooting of her abusive lover. [3]
The project is produced by Silverprint Pictures for ITVX and is based on Carol Ann Lee's biography A Fine Day For Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story. The script is written by Kelly Jones with Angie Daniell producing the series and Lee Haven Jones directing all four episodes, originally entitled Ruth. [4]
On 19 February 2024, ITV announced the series' retitling to A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story and released a first-look image of Lucy Boynton in character as Ellis. [1] [2]
In June 2023, Lucy Boynton joined the cast. [5] In September 2023 it was revealed the cast would also include Toby Jones, Laurie Davidson, Mark Stanley, Joe Armstrong, Arthur Darvill, Juliet Stevenson and Toby Stephens. [6]
Filming took place at Troubadour Meridian Water Studios in September 2023; Dorchester, Dorset and The Historic Dockyard Chatham in October 2023; [7] specific filming locations included Dorchester Prison. [8]
Ruth Ellis was a Welsh nightclub hostess and convicted murderer who became the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom following the fatal shooting of her lover, David Blakely.
Toby Edward Heslewood Jones is an English actor. He is known for his extensive character actor roles on stage and screen. From 1989 to 1991, Jones trained at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. He made his stage debut in 2001 in the comedy play The Play What I Wrote, which played in the West End and on Broadway, earning him a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 2020, he was nominated for his second Olivier Award, for Best Actor for his performance in a revival of Anton Chekov's Uncle Vanya.
Lucy Boynton is a British actress. Raised in London, she made her professional debut as the young Beatrix Potter in Miss Potter (2006). She appeared in television productions Ballet Shoes (2007), Sense and Sensibility (2008) and Mo (2010), making guest appearances on Lewis, Borgia, Endeavour, and Law & Order: UK. Boynton portrayed writer Angelica Garnett on Life in Squares, which aired on BBC. She appeared as an isolated popular girl in The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015) and starred as a bold aspiring model in Sing Street (2016). She also appeared in horror films I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016) and Don't Knock Twice (2016).
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