The Lady: What’s fact and what’s fiction in Sarah Ferguson dramatisation?
The new mini-series has prompted a strong response from the family of the murdered man at its centre, and raised questions about what is dramatised and what is factual. The family say the lady brought them to tears when they watched the production more than 25 years after the killing.
Plot and on-screen scenes
The penultimate episode follows convicted murderer Jane Andrews, played by Mia McKenna-Bruce, and shows a family holiday with Tommy Cressman, played by Ed Speleers, during which Andrews dreams of a wedding proposal. When it becomes clear a proposal is not on the cards, the couple return to London for a make-or-break conversation that escalates and "gets out of hand, " a description credited to Hollie Richardson.
Family reaction and quotes
Rick Cressman, the brother of the murdered man, said the drama brought him to tears. "By the time we got into the final episode, I was feeling very, very tearful, " he said. Rick Cressman said protecting his brother's memory and legacy is important and added: "I can't have my brother's memory and legacy being besmirched by people just creating stuff. "
He said he had been concerned about the commissioning of the four-part fictionalised drama and that he had been shown a private screening. "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 said.
Rick Cressman described media cooperation as a duty to his brother and said: "Particularly for myself, it's been a changing scenario over 25 years. " He also said: "By the time we finish the next one, that's on the go as well now, that ABC News and Disney Plus are doing... That will be the 12th TV production. " He said facing the announcement in December of 2024 that a four-part fictionalised drama would be made had been the biggest issue for him.
The Lady dramatisation
The four-part series, billed as a dramatisation of Jane Andrews's life, stars Natalie Dormer as Sarah Ferguson with Mia McKenna-Bruce as her dresser Jane Andrews. The opening credits describe the drama as "inspired by a true story" and also state that "some names have been changed and some characters, events and scenes have been created and merged for dramatic purposes. "
Harriet Wistrich, chief executive of the Centre for Women's Justice who represented Andrews at her appeal, said Andrews had not contributed to this dramatisation and had never contributed to other documentaries. Wistrich warned that audiences are being given "a one-sided view that fails to explore why a vulnerable woman in her circumstances may have been driven to kill. "
Legal timeline and known facts
Jane Andrews, who was Sarah Ferguson's royal dresser from 1988 to 1997, murdered her partner in September 2000. The victim is named variously in coverage as Tommy Cressman, Tom Cressman and Thomas Cressman; he is described as an ex-stockbroker. Cressman was attacked with a cricket bat and fatally stabbed while he slept at the couple's London home in 2000, and prosecution materials described Andrews as a "woman scorned, " saying the motive was that Cressman reportedly refused to marry her.
After the killing Andrews went on the run and was found days later in Cornwall having overdosed in her car; she survived and was arrested and charged following police interrogation. She denied murdering Cressman but was convicted and in 2001 was ordered to serve at least 15 years in prison. The then-34-year-old received a life sentence in 2001.
Andrews began her sentence at HM Prison Bullwood Hall in Hockley, Essex. After nine years she was transferred to HM Prison East Sutton Park, a women's open prison, from which she absconded; she was found three days later in a hotel room and was not charged with absconding. The context notes that she was employed by Ferguson for nine years and that she came from Cleethorpes in north-east Lincolnshire; an account that places her earlier life in Grimsby states that at age 21, while working as a children's clothes designer at Marks & Spencer, she had responded to an anonymous advertisement in The Lady magazine for a personal dresser, was interviewed six months later by Ferguson and started the job four days after that response.
One line in existing coverage states that "she was later involved in police efforts to track Andrews down, " but who "she" refers to is unclear in the provided context.
