A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story will follow one of the most notorious murder cases in British criminal history and now we have the first picture (above) of Lucy Boynton as Ruth.
In 1955, 28-year-old Ruth Ellis was the last woman in the UK to be hanged for murder. Told over two parallel timelines, the series reveals hidden secrets about the case and shows what happened in the months before nightclub manager Ruth killed her abusive lover David Blakely and was later hanged by infamous hangman Albert Pierrepoint. The drama also stars Toby Jones as Ruth's solicitor John Bickford while Laurie Davidson is her victim David Blakely. Happy Valley and The Reckoning star Mark Stanley plays her lover Desmond Cussen.
"Ruth Ellis’ story is a fascinating one," says Lucy Boynton. "Both she and this complex case have always evoked a strong reaction, and with Kelly’s (Des and Baptiste writer Kelly Jones) insightful scripts I'm looking forward to bringing a new perspective to both familiar audiences as well as those who are unaware of her mark on British history."
Here's everything you need to know about A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story (formerly called Ruth) coming to ITV1, ITVX plus BritBox…
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story release date
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story is a four-part drama that will premiere in the US and Canada on BritBox from February 17 2025. The drama will also be shown weekly in the UK on ITV1 from Wednesday March 5 2025 at 9pm. It will also be available to stream as a box set on ITVX from March 5 2025. We'll update on a US channel and air date. ITV Studios is handling international distribution.
Is there a trailer for A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story?
Yes ITV has released the trailer for A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story which you can look at below...
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story plot
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story is a drama follows events in the 1950s with Ruth Ellis enjoying a glamorous life as a young nightclub manager. It delves into the abusive relationship she had with racing driver David Blakely and how it later led her to gun him down in cold blood outside The Magdala pub in Hampstead, London.
It shows Ruth's arrest and trial, right up to her execution in Holloway Prison on July 13 1955. It also brings to life the 11th-hour campaign to save her as Ruth and her supporters battle an unforgiving Establishment determined to see her hang. We also see Ruth’s solicitor realise how much violence she endured at the hands of Blakely and uncover details that could have saved her had they been aired in court.
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story — Lucy Boynton interview on playing Ruth
Lucy Boynton plays the ill-fated executed murderess Ruth Ellis. She told us: "The fascination comes from not understanding how this could happen. Ruth was 28 and David 25 and there was an emotive response from people. Some felt she should be hanged because they worried other women would want to stand up for themselves. But others knew this was barbaric.
"We've never had the full picture. I hope it’s a catalyst for conversation, because this is an in-depth look at Ruth, not as hero or villain, just as a person. Dance with a Stranger [the 1985 film, which starred Miranda Richardson and focused on the lead-up to the shooting] was different. In this, the story continues on and also explores Ruth's childhood and relationships.
"She’s contradictory, electric and an absolute force, who’s gone after a big, bright life for herself. But she also has a lack of self-pity and takes ownership of what she’s done. She thinks she can handle everything.
"In the 50s, there was a return to traditionalism and the family unit. But the way Ruth behaved was a rebellion against the way a woman was told she ought to behave. It's about gender and class politics. She was made an example of, because of everything she represented. And the public's impression of her was dictated by the media representation.
:Filming at the real Magdala pub in Hampstead was wild. But the set design is also a portal back to the 1950s, while our costume designer Emma Fryer was specific about the clothes and fabrics because Ruth was particular about the way she presented herself – she was constantly striving to get it right. Getting to live as close to that world as I could has been a gift."
Lucy starred in the Agatha Christie adaptation Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? and played Freddie Mercury’s girlfriend Mary Austin in Bohemian Rhapsody. She's also appeared in Sing Street, Murder on the Orient Express, The Ipcress File, Miss Potter and Chevalier, in which she played French queen Marie Antoinette. She played Proust Barbie in the Barbie movie.
Who else is starring in A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story?
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story has a great cast, including Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs The Post Office) who plays Ruth's low-budget but intelligent solicitor John Bickford while Toby Stephens (Die Another Day) is her defence barrister Melford Stevenson QC. Mary and George star Laurie Davidson is her abusive partner David Blakely while Mark Stanley (The Reckoning, Happy Valley) is her lover Desmond Cussen who becomes embroiled in her toxic love triangle.
Joe Armstrong (Gentleman Jack) is the detective in charge of her case and Juliet Stevenson (Wolf) is Dr Charity Taylor, governess of Holloway Prison. Arthur Darvill (Broadchurch) is Ruth’s divorce lawyer Victor Mishcon, who fought for her reprieve. Nigel Havers also stars.
Toby Jones says: ‘Ruth Ellis is notorious as the last woman to be hanged, but few people know the circumstances, and the speed of the case [the trial took two days, the jury delivered their verdict after 14 minutes, and Ruth was executed 22 days later] was startling. Bickford tries to get Ruth to use the domestic violence she'd suffered as a mitigating factor but she won't, until it’s too late. They opt for a different defence but Bickford ends up compromised. He starts off as a good man but he's tortured that he wasn't able to save her. There was footage of Bickford in the 1970s and he’s still haunted by the case and what he hadn't been able to do."
Here's a full lowdown on the main characters below....
Ruth Ellis
(Lucy Boynton)
The nightclub manager becomes embroiled in a traumatic liaison that leads to her execution.
David Blakely
(Laurie Davidson)
Ruth’s lover is abusive towards her and the relationship ends in tragedy for them both.
John Bickford
(Toby Jones)
The clever solicitor looks for any means possible to prevent Ruth from going to the gallows.
Desmond Cussen
(Mark Stanley)
The besotted ex-RAF pilot wants to take care of Ruth, but did he help her in the lead-up to murder?
Melford Stevenson QC
(Toby Stephens)
Ruth’s barrister has a tough job on his hands as he attempts to defend her in court.
Justice Havers
(Nigel Havers)
The judge, Nigel’s real-life grandfather, presides over Ruth’s trial and sentences her to death.
Victor Mischon
(Arthur Darvill)
The suave lawyer arrives in episode 3 has dealt with Ruth’s divorce and now tries to help secure her reprieve.
DCI Leslie Davis
(Joe Armstrong)
Following Ruth’s confession, the shrewd detective wants justice to be served.
Dr Charity Taylor
(Juliet Stevenson)
Holloway Prison’s Governor oversees Ruth’s incarceration and her hanging.
Carole Findlater
(Bessie Carter)
David’s friend and her husband Anthony (Ed Sayer) want to make Ruth pay for killing him.
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story episode guide
Here's a brief guide to the four episodes of A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story...
Episode 1
Ambitious single mother Ruth (Lucy Boynton), who’s running a London nightclub, meets upper-crust racing driver David (Laurie Davidson). Despite Desmond Cussen (Mark Stanley), one of the club’s customers, also being interested in her, Ruth embarks on a passionate romance with David. But he becomes violent and their toxic relationship ends with her shooting him dead outside a Hampstead pub.
As Ruth is put on trial for murder, her solicitor John Bickford (Toby Jones) is desperate to show the abuse she underwent could be a mitigating factor in her defence. Meanwhile, he also tries to uncover more about the complex love triangle involving her, David and Desmond, as he’s suspicious about Desmond’s potential involvement in the crime. But Ruth seems reluctant to speak out and rescue herself from the gallows…
Episode 2
Solicitor John Bickford faces an uphill battle to prevent Ruth Ellis from being executed, as she goes on trial for murder after shooting dead her abusive lover, David Blakely. Bickford (Toby Jones) hopes they can demonstrate that it was manslaughter, not murder, if they reveal David’s violence towards Ruth (Lucy Boynton), and her miscarriage, which may have been caused by his beatings. And the lawyer is also keen to prove that Ruth’s devoted admirer Desmond Cussen (Mark Stanley) gave her the gun and that she was coerced. Defence barrister Melford Stevenson QC (Toby Stephens), however, believes their only course of action is to show that Ruth was provoked to kill David (Laurie Davidson), as she was hysterical and jealous due to his infidelities.
Episode 3
Doctor Who star Arthur Darvill arrives as shrewd lawyer Victor Mischon, who has guided Ruth Ellis (Lucy Boynton) through her divorce from her husband. But when Ruth later faces execution for murdering lover David Blakely (Laurie Davidson), and her solicitor John Bickford (Toby Jones) fails to win her a reprieve from the Home Secretary, she appoints Victor to represent her instead. With only days before Ruth heads to the gallows, Victor visits Holloway Prison to help her make a last-ditch bid to save her life…
Episode 4
Check back for an update on the series finale
The real Ruth Ellis story — what really happened in the 1950s
On Easter Sunday in 1955, glamorous model, nightclub manager and mother-of-two Ruth Ellis fired six shots outside The Magdala pub in Hampstead, killing her abusive lover David Blakely, an upper class racing driver who wanted to end their relationship. Her trial for his murder took place just three months later and despite the overwhelming evidence that Blakely was physically abusive to her, Ruth was sentenced to death. Attempts to halt the execution failed and she became the last woman in England to be hanged. Her death played a major part in the movement to abolish the death penalty although this didn’t happen until a decade later.
Behind the scenes and more on A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story
The series is produced by critically acclaimed producers, Silverprint Pictures, part of ITV Studios, whose portfolio includes Shetland, Vera and Flesh and Blood. The drama was commissioned by ITV’s Head of Drama Polly Hill and Drama Commissioner, Huw Kennair Jones. Kelly Jones has written all four scripts and Angie Daniell (World On Fire, Vigil, The Long Call) is producing the series. Lee Haven Jones (Passenger, Feast, The Long Call) directs all four episodes.
