Jane Andrews TV Drama Triggers Tears for Family and Legal Challenge from Women’s Charity
A newly premiered four-part drama about jane andrews has prompted a strong reaction: a brother of the murdered man said watching the series brought him to tears, while a women’s legal charity has criticised the programme as one-sided and highlighted legal questions that could affect Andrews’ future.
Jane Andrews: family reaction and protection of memory
Rick Cressman, the brother of Tom Cressman, described an emotional response when he watched the final episode of the four-part series. Rick, a business owner from Warwickshire, said by the time he reached the finale he was "very, very tearful. " He emphasised the importance of protecting his brother's memory and legacy amid repeated dramatizations of the case.
Rick recalled that his brother Tom was attacked with a cricket bat and fatally stabbed by his partner Jane Andrews while he slept at their London home in 2000. He said the family has faced many intrusions over the years and that fictionalising a genuine, living story is a problem because the family continues to live with the consequences. Rick also said he had cooperated with media over the years out of a sense of duty to his brother.
Rick added that the announcement in December 2024 that a four-part fictionalised drama was to be made was a major issue for him, and that further productions are in development by other organisations, which he said would make this the twelfth TV production about the case. He said he could not have his brother's memory and legacy "besmirched by people just creating stuff. "
The Lady and how it depicts jane andrews
The new four-part series, The Lady, premiered on Sunday night and follows the life of Jane Andrews. The drama casts Natalie Dormer as Sarah Ferguson and Mia McKenna-Bruce as Andrews. It opens with a working-class Jane trying to fit into a new royal world while managing worsening mental health, tracing a trajectory that culminates in the murder of her boyfriend.
The production is presented as a gripping true-crime drama and is billed as coming from the makers of a well-known royal drama series. The programme’s makers describe Andrews’ rise and fall as culminating in a brutal murder. The series’ commissioning prompted a private screening for Rick Cressman after he expressed concern about the project.
Legal charity comment and the case’s unresolved questions
Harriet Wistrich, who represented Jane Andrews at her 2003 appeal and who leads a women’s legal organisation, criticised the new drama as one-sided. She noted that Jane Andrews was convicted of the murder of Tom Cressman more than 25 years ago, served her prison sentence long ago and has attempted to move on, but continues to attract media interest because of her past employment with a now-discredited section of the Royal family.
Wistrich emphasised that Andrews did not contribute to The Lady and has not contributed to previous TV documentaries about the case, meaning the public are often presented with a single perspective. She argued that prosecution case and media coverage can distort underlying stories by relying on sexist tropes such as the "fatal attraction killer" or "gold hunter. "
Wistrich pointed to a legal precedent in the case of Sally Challen and a greater understanding of coercive control and mental health vulnerabilities, suggesting those developments could assist Jane Andrews in pursuing a fresh appeal if she so wishes. The legal organisation has prepared a more detailed briefing on the matter.
Criminal history and unanswered details
The context of the crime in the drama reflects the factual record in the case: Andrews, from Cleethorpes in north-east Lincolnshire, had been employed by Sarah Ferguson for nine years. The text also states that "she was later involved in police efforts to track Andrews down"—unclear in the provided context whether that pronoun refers to Andrews or to Ferguson.
At the time of the killing, Andrews was described as the then-34-year-old. She denied murdering Tom Cressman on the claimed motive that he would not marry her, but was convicted and ordered to serve at least 15 years in prison in 2001.
What happens next
The Lady’s premiere has reopened public debate over how real criminal cases are dramatized and who gets to shape the narrative. The Cressman family’s emotional response and the legal charity’s critique point to continuing tensions between dramatization, victims’ families and broader legal and social questions about motive, vulnerability and culpability. Recent updates indicate further productions remain in development; details may evolve.
