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A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story

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A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story
GenreHistorical drama
Based onA Fine Day For Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story by Carol Ann Lee
Screenplay byKelly Jones
Directed byLee Haven Jones
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes4
Production
Executive producer
  • Kate Bartlett
ProducerAngie Daniell
EditorDavid Fisher
Production companies
Original release
NetworkITVX
BritBox
Release17 February 2025 (2025-2-17) (United States)
5 March 2025 (2025-3-5) (United Kingdom)

A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story,[1][2] originally titled Ruth,[3][4] is a four-part British historical drama television series for ITV, starring Lucy Boynton as Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in Britain, and Toby Jones as her solicitor John Bickford. It was released in the United States on BritBox in on 17 February 2025.

Synopsis

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Ellis was the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom. She was convicted of murder following the fatal shooting of her abusive lover.[5]

Cast

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Production

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The project was 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; according to Silverprint creative director Kate Bartlett, the series came to be when she was told about the book's existence by one of Ellis' grandsons.[10] The script was written by Kelly Jones with Angie Daniell producing the series and Lee Haven Jones directing all four episodes.[3]

The series was originally entitled Ruth,[3][4] but 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]

Casting

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In June 2023, Lucy Boynton was cast as Ruth Ellis.[3][4] 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.[5][8]

Filming

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Studio filming took place at Troubadour Meridian Water Studios in September 2023. Location filming took place in October 2023, with scenes being shot in or around the Magdala Tavern and the former magistrates court in Hampstead where the real Ruth Ellis was arraigned.[11] Scenes taking place in HMP Holloway were filmed at the Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent (representing the entrance)[12] and Dorchester Prison (representing the rest of the prison).[13][11] Scenes taking place in the Old Bailey were mostly filmed in a reconstruction of its interiors at University College School (again in Hampstead), though the real interior does appear in some scenes.[11]

Courtroom scenes were filmed in accordance with the original trial documents; while this verbatim recital of the transcripts was a legal requirement rather than a deliberate creative decision, both Bartlett and Boynton felt that it still served to enhance the factual accuracy and the emotional aspect of the series.[10][14]

Release

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The series was first released via the BritBox service, with the first two episodes being released on 17 February 2025 and the remaining two episodes being released on subsequent Mondays.[15] The series then began airing weekly on ITV1 from 5 March 2025,[16][6] with a streaming release on ITVX happening concurrently.[17][6]

Reception

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The Times' Carol Midgley gave the series four stars out of five. While mostly concerned with the real-life aspects of the story, she did remark that Boynton's "quietly haunting performance" as Ellis was delivered with "charismatic nuance" and that the fourth episode (which focuses on the last days of Ellis' life) was the "most affecting"; she also said that Nigel Havers playing his own grandfather "felt a touch creepy" but he managed to do it "well" nonetheless.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Goldbart, Max (19 February 2024). "ITV Unveils Exclusive First-Look Image Of Lucy Boynton As Ruth Ellis, The Last Woman Hanged In Britain". Deadline. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "ITV and Silverprint Pictures release first look image of Lucy Boynton as Ruth Ellis in intoxicating drama, A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story". ITV. 19 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Kanter, Jake (13 June 2023). "Lucy Boynton Headlines ITV Series 'Ruth' About The Last Woman To Hang In The UK". Deadline. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Hibbs, James (13 June 2023). "Lucy Boynton plays Ruth Ellis in ITV drama about last woman hanged in UK". Radio Times. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cormack, Morgan (28 September 2023). "Toby Jones and Happy Valley stars join cast of ITV's Ruth Ellis drama". Radio Times. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Craig, David (5 March 2025). "A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story cast and their real-life counterparts". Radio Times. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jessop, Vicky (3 March 2025). "A Cruel Love: from Toby Jones to Lucy Boynton, who plays who in the Ruth Ellis drama?". London Standard. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  8. ^ a b Goldbart, Max (28 September 2023). "Toby Jones Boards ITV Drama 'Ruth' About Last Woman To Be Hanged In Britain". Deadline. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  9. ^ Ellen, Barbara (9 March 2025). "The week in TV: Get Millie Black; With Love, Meghan; A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story; Towards Zero – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  10. ^ a b Szalai, Georg (20 February 2025). "'A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story,' About the Last Woman Hanged in Britain, Started With an Email". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  11. ^ a b c Hornbuckle, Jon (5 March 2025). "Where was 'A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story' filmed: behind the scenes on the true crime drama". Time Out London. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  12. ^ Taylor, Mike (28 October 2023). "Filming for ITV drama series wraps up in Dorchester as production crews take over car park". Dorset.Live. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  13. ^ Carr, Hollie (29 October 2023). "ITV film four-part drama 'Ruth' in Dorchester prison". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  14. ^ "A Cruel Love Press Pack" (PDF). ITV Press Centre. 25 February 2025. p. 15. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  15. ^ Tinubu, Aramide (17 February 2025). "BritBox's 'A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story' Is an Unflinching Crime Drama Centered on Capital Punishment: TV Review". Variety. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  16. ^ Richardson, Hollie; Seale, Jack; Virtue, Graeme; Davies, Hannah J (5 March 2025). "TV tonight: Tamara Lawrance is an ace detective in a Jamaica-set thriller". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  17. ^ Nicholson, Rebecca (5 March 2025). "A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story review – the sad, shocking tale of the last woman to be hanged in Britain". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  18. ^ Midgley, Carol (5 March 2025). "A Cruel Love review — Ruth Ellis's courage illuminates this dark tale". The Times. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
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