ITV has announced the impressive cast of its upcoming crime drama, The Lady, based on a true story about the Duchess of York's former aide Jane Andrews, who was convicted of murdering her boyfriend in 2001.
Penned by Debbie O'Malley (Payback) and produced by Left Bank Pictures (The Crown), the partly fictionalised drama stars Mia McKenna-Bruce (How To Have Sex) as Jane, Natalie Dormer (Game Of Thrones, Tudors) as Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and Ed Speleers (Outlander, Downton Abbey) as Jane's boyfriend and murder victim, Thomas Cressman.
© GettyMark Stanley (Adolescence), Philip Glenister (Steeltown Murders), Claire Skinner (Outnumbered), Laura Aikman (Gavin and Stacey), Ophelia Lovibond (Trying), Daniel Ryan (The Bay) and Sean Teale (Reign) round out the stacked cast.
Lee Haven Jones (A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, Passenger) will direct the series. A release date has yet to be confirmed.
© Getty ImagesSo, what can viewers expect?
The four-part drama charts the rise and fall of former royal dresser Jane Andrews, whose rags-to-riches fairy tale came crashing down when she was convicted of murder.
© David ReissThe synopsis continues: "Once a young working-class girl, Jane answered an advertisement in a magazine and to the astonishment of her friends and family, became the Duchess of York’s dresser at Buckingham Palace.
"Moving amongst the highest social circles in Britain, Jane managed to secure a place in the upper classes, only to lose her job with the Duchess after nine years of service.
© Shutterstock"Still reeling from her fall from grace, Jane went on to meet charismatic businessman Thomas Cressman and fell deeply in love.
"Soon cracks began to develop in the romance Jane had pinned all her hopes on, with disastrous consequences."
5 top ITV drama series
© ITV1. The Bay
Set in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire. Investigator Lisa Armstrong is assigned to support and talk to the families of missing persons. When she discovers a personal connection to a case she's working on, her emotional involvement may cause her to overlook crucial clues.
2. A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story
A dark love story about Ruth Ellis (Lucy Boynton), the last woman to be executed in the UK in the 1950s. The historical crime drama follows her turbulent life as a nightclub manager and her violent relationship with the man she eventually murders.
3. Unforgotten
Detectives Cassie Stuart and Sunil Khan are on the top of their game to solve a series of cold cases including murders and strange disappearances. But are there consequences to digging up crimes and secrets from the past?
4. Out There
Nathan Williams (Martin Clunes), plays a farmer who risks everything to protect his son after he becomes involved with a drug gang. The dark world of county lines drug cartels begins to seep into the family's rural life.
5. Playing Nice
James Norton stars in this nightmare thriller about what happens when two sets of parents realise their sons may not be their biological children.
Last year, it was revealed that the series, set in Grimsby and London, would be filmed during the early part of 2025.
© ShutterstockFor those unfamiliar with Jane's story, she worked as a dresser for the Duchess of York for nine years until 1997.
In 2001, Jane was convicted of murdering her boyfriend, former stockbroker Thomas Cressman, after stabbing him with a kitchen knife and hitting him with a cricket bat while he was lying in bed at their west London home. She claimed she had acted in self-defence and said Thomas had been abusive towards her. She also spoke of being abused as a child.
In 2001, Jane was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old Bailey. The same year, psychiatrist Trevor Turner diagnosed Jane with borderline personality disorder.
She was released in 2015 after serving 14 years.
