# A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story

A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, originally titled Ruth, is a four-part British historical drama television series for ITV, starring Lucy Boynton as Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in Britain, and Toby Jones as her solicitor John Bickford. It was released in the United States on BritBox in on 17 February 2025.

## Synopsis

Ellis was the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom. She was convicted of murder following the fatal shooting of her abusive lover.

## Cast

* Lucy Boynton as Ruth Ellis
* Toby Jones as John Bickford, Ellis' solicitor during her murder trial
* Laurie Davidson as David Blakely, Ellis' lover, abuser, and eventual murder victim
* Mark Stanley as Desmond Cussen, a former RAF pilot who was a suitor to Ellis and who Ellis described as providing her with the revolver she used to kill Blakely (though Cussen would always deny this)
* Joe Armstrong as DCI Leslie Davies, lead detective on the murder case
* Arthur Darvill as Victor Mishcon QC, Ellis' barrister during her divorce case
* Juliet Stevenson as Dr Charity Taylor, governor of HMP Holloway during Ellis' confinement and eventual execution
* Toby Stephens as Melford Stevenson QC, Ellis' barrister during her murder trial
* Amanda Drew as Bertha, Ellis' mother
* Nigel Havers as Justice Cecil Havers, the judge presiding over Ellis' murder trial. Later known as Lord Havers, Cecil was Nigel Havers' grandfather.
* Ed Sayer and Bessie Carter as Anthony and Carole Findlater, friends of Blakely
* Audrey Brisson as Jacqueline, a friend of Ellis
* Rowan Robinson as Vicki, another friend of Ellis

## Production

The project was produced by Silverprint Pictures for ITVX and is based on Carol Ann Lee's biography A Fine Day For Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story; according to Silverprint creative director Kate Bartlett, the series came to be when she was told about the book's existence by one of Ellis' grandsons. The script was written by Kelly Jones with Angie Daniell producing the series and Lee Haven Jones directing all four episodes.
The series was originally entitled Ruth, but on 19 February 2024, ITV announced the series' retitling to A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story and released a first-look image of Lucy Boynton in character as Ellis.

### Casting

In June 2023, Lucy Boynton was cast as Ruth Ellis. In September 2023 it was revealed the cast would also include Toby Jones, Laurie Davidson, Mark Stanley, Joe Armstrong, Arthur Darvill, Juliet Stevenson and Toby Stephens.

### Filming

Studio filming took place at Troubadour Meridian Water Studios in September 2023. Location filming took place in October 2023, with scenes being shot in or around the Magdala Tavern and the former magistrates court in Hampstead where the real Ruth Ellis was arraigned. Scenes taking place in HMP Holloway were filmed at the Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent (representing the entrance) and Dorchester Prison (representing the rest of the prison). Scenes taking place in the Old Bailey were mostly filmed in a reconstruction of its interiors at University College School (again in Hampstead), though the real interior does appear in some scenes.
Courtroom scenes were filmed in accordance with the original trial documents; while this verbatim recital of the transcripts was a legal requirement rather than a deliberate creative decision, both Bartlett and Boynton felt that it still served to enhance the factual accuracy and the emotional aspect of the series.

## Release

The series was first released via the BritBox service, with the first two episodes being released on 17 February 2025 and the remaining two episodes being released on subsequent Mondays. The series then began airing weekly on ITV1 from 5 March 2025, with a streaming release on ITVX happening concurrently.

## Reception

The Times' Carol Midgley gave the series four stars out of five. While mostly concerned with the real-life aspects of the story, she did remark that Boynton's "quietly haunting performance" as Ellis was delivered with "charismatic nuance" and that the fourth episode (which focuses on the last days of Ellis' life) was the "most affecting"; she also said that Nigel Havers playing his own grandfather "felt a touch creepy" but he managed to do it "well" nonetheless.