Family in tears as ITV drama about Jane Andrews premieres
A new ITV drama about jane andrews left the brother of the man she killed in tears when he watched the series, more than 25 years after the killing.
Family reaction: 'very, very tearful'
Rick Cressman, a business owner from Warwickshire and the brother of Tom Cressman, said the four-part series brought him to tears by the final episode. He told the that, more than 25 years after his brother's death, "By the time we got into the final episode, I was feeling very, very tearful. " Tom Cressman was attacked with a cricket bat and fatally stabbed by his partner Jane Andrews while he slept at their London home in 2000.
How Jane Andrews is portrayed in The Lady
The Lady, which premiered on Sunday night, follows the life of Jane Andrews and stars Natalie Dormer as Sarah Ferguson and Mia McKenna-Bruce as her dresser. The drama, from the makers of The Crown, is described by ITV as a "gripping true crime drama" about Andrews, "whose rise and fall culminated in a brutal murder. " The four-parter begins with a working-class Jane trying to fit in with the royal world while managing worsening mental health.
Concerns over fictionalising a living story
Rick Cressman said he had been concerned when ITV commissioned the drama and that the producers gave him a private screening. He said it is "a problem to fictionalise a genuine living story we're living and breathing; our family's here and I've always tried to cope with a lot of the intrusions that we've had to cope with. " He added that he has cooperated with the media over the years out of a sense of duty to his brother and that protecting Tom's memory and legacy had become increasingly important.
Legal past and campaigners' comments
Harriet Wistrich, CEO of the Centre for Women's Justice who represented Jane Andrews at her appeal in 2003, said jane andrews was convicted more than 25 years ago, served her prison sentence and has tried to move on. Wistrich said Andrews did not contribute to The Lady nor to previous TV productions, and warned that viewers are presented with a one-sided picture that does not explore why a vulnerable woman might have been driven to kill. Wistrich pointed to changing legal thinking on coercive control and the precedent set in the case of Sally Challen as factors that could be relevant if Andrews sought a fresh appeal.
Background of the case and what comes next
Andrews, from Cleethorpes in north-east Lincolnshire, was employed by Sarah Ferguson for nine years and later took part in police efforts to track herself down. The then-34-year-old denied murdering Tom Cressman because he would not marry her but was convicted in 2001 and ordered to serve at least 15 years in prison. Rick Cressman said the announcement in December 2024 that ITV would make a four-part fictionalised drama was always the biggest issue for the family, and he warned he could not have his brother's memory "besmirched by people just creating stuff. " He also said another production by ABC News and Disney Plus is already under way and that "That will be the 12th TV production. "
ITV's The Lady has now reached viewers with Natalie Dormer and Mia McKenna-Bruce in the lead roles; campaigners and the victim's family have signalled continued debate over dramatizing this case. The next confirmed development mentioned by the family is the separate production by ABC News and Disney Plus that Rick Cressman said is under way and slated to become the twelfth television treatment of the case.
