Mia McKenna-Bruce praised as Jane Andrews drama draws tears from victim’s brother
The ITV four-part drama The Lady, which follows the life of jane andrews, has drawn fresh attention to the 2000 murder of Tom Cressman and earned praise for Mia McKenna-Bruce’s performance, while the victim’s brother described being moved to tears after a private screening.
Jane Andrews at the centre of the new four-part drama
The Lady, described by ITV as a "gripping true crime drama" from the makers of The Crown, follows the life of Jane Andrews and portrays "a rise and fall culminat[ing] in a brutal murder. " The series stars Natalie Dormer as Sarah Ferguson and Mia McKenna-Bruce as Ferguson’s former dresser, Jane Andrews. Critics have singled out McKenna-Bruce’s performance: a review headlined that Mia McKenna-Bruce excels in this Jane Andrews drama, and another described Dormer as playing Sarah Ferguson "with aplomb. "
Brother’s reaction and the story behind the killing
Rick Cressman, whose brother Tom Cressman was murdered in London in 2000, said the ITV drama brought him to tears when he watched it more than 25 years after the killing. Rick Cressman, a business owner from Warwickshire, said, "By the time we got into the final episode, I was feeling very, very tearful. " Tom was attacked with a cricket bat and fatally stabbed by his partner, Jane Andrews, while he slept at their London home in 2000.
Private screening, past productions and family concerns
Speaking to CWR ahead of the series, Rick Cressman said he had been concerned when ITV announced the four-part fictionalised drama and that the broadcaster gave him a private screening. He said he has cooperated with the media over the years out of a sense of duty to his brother and that protecting Tom’s memory had become increasingly important. "I can't have my brother's memory and legacy being besmirched by people just creating stuff, " he said, adding that fictionalising a "genuine living story we're living and breathing" was a problem for the family.
Rick Cressman noted that more productions about the case are in the pipeline and that by the time "the next one" finishes, ABC News and Disney Plus will be involved; he said that will be the 12th TV production. He also said it was difficult to face up to the announcement in December of 2024 that a four-part fictionalised drama was going ahead.
How the series frames Andrews and what the record shows
The Lady begins with a working-class Jane trying to fit into a royal environment while managing worsening mental health, and it traces Andrews’ employment with Sarah Ferguson. Andrews, from Cleethorpes in north-east Lincolnshire, was employed by Ferguson for nine years and was later involved in police efforts to track her down. The then-34-year-old denied murdering Tom Cressman because he would not marry her but was convicted of his murder and ordered to serve at least 15 years in prison in 2001.
Tonight’s TV highlights, films and sport
Alongside coverage of The Lady on the evening’s schedules, listings highlight film and sport offerings. Films nominated heavily at the Baftas include One Battle After Another, Sinners, Marty Supreme and Hamnet, while British films to watch include I Swear, The Ballad of Wallis Island and Pillion. A performance by KPop Demon Hunters is also billed for the night.
Classical and cultural programming includes a concert in Lisbon by the Gulbenkian Orchestra conducted by Aziz Shokakimov, which plays Ravel’s La Valse, Debussy’s La Mer and Bedřich Smetana’s Vltava. Evening arts coverage also recalls Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 classic Breathless (aka A Bout de Souffle), starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg, scheduled at 12. 35am on Talking Pictures TV.
TV entertainment rounds include a tense drama sequence described as leading to someone being martyred with the lines "Kill the beast. Cut his throat. Spill his blood, " and a panel show where Alan Carr and Susie Dent oversee 12 contestants narrowed to four through a complex mathematical maze and a memory game based on the periodic table, featuring an ambulance technician named Ollie who could remember every number plate on her estate as a child.
Sporting fixtures listed for the day include Premier League matches Nottingham Forest v Liverpool at 1pm followed by Tottenham v Arsenal at 4. 25pm, the Women’s FA Cup fifth-round Chelsea v Man Utd at 1pm on TNT Sports 1 and Liverpool v Everton at 4pm on Channel 4, plus Six Nations rugby France v Italy at 2. 20pm on ITV1 from Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille. The Winter Olympics coverage notes a biathlete’s confession of infidelity, an ice-skating episode featuring Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, and a closing ceremony at the Verona Arena handing the 2030 baton to the French Alps.
The Lady premiered on Sunday night; viewers can follow the scheduled sports and television events listed above and the continuing conversation around the drama and other productions that revisit the 2000 killing.
