Filming has begun on the new ITV drama The Lady, which will follow the story of Jane Andrews, who worked as a dresser for the Duchess of York. Jane went on the run and was later jailed for murdering her boyfriend.
Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer will play the role of Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, in the upcoming royal drama following the rise and fall of royal dresser Jane. She lost her job with the Duchess after being a loyal employee for nine years and was convicted of killing her lover in 2001.
The upcoming series also stars BAFTA winner Mia McKenna-Bruce as Jane, while Outlander’s Ed Speleers will play her husband Thomas Cressman. The Lady’s cast also includes Life of Mars’ Philip Glenister, Outnumbered’s Claire Skinner, Gavin and Stacey star Laura Aikman, W1A’s Ophelia Lovibond, Adolescence’s Mark Stanley, The Bay’s Daniel Ryan and Doctor Odyssey’s Sean Teale.
The cast have already been spotted filming the gripping drama in London as they took to the capital’s streets. Actresses Natalie and Mia donned matching red suits as they took on the roles of the Duchess and Jane.
The duo filmed a scene were they dashed out of a property to a waiting mass of press and photographers. They held each others hands as they headed into an awaiting royal car.
Both Natalie and Mia looked identical to each other with full matching outfits and hair – just like Fergie and Jane. In between takes, the stars kept warm in long coats and hugged hot water bottles.
ITV teased: “Once a young working-class girl, Jane answered an advertisement in a magazine and to the astonishment of her friends and family, became the Duchess of York’s dresser at Buckingham Palace .
“Moving amongst the highest social circles in Britain, Jane managed to secure a place in the upper-classes, only to lose her job with the Duchess after nine years of service.”
Her early life in Lincolnshire during the 1960s saw her grow up in what can be described as abject poverty and suffered with depression. She tragically attempted to take her own life at the age of just 15.
Although her humble beginnings were more tragic than most, she was given a lifeline at the age of 21, when she was hired by the Duchess of York as a personal dresser.
Jane had success after responding to an advert anonymously posted in The Lady magazine. The two quickly formed a fast friendship, and it has been widely reported that Sarah even affectionately dubbed her new employee “Lady Jane” during the course of their connection.
During her trial, Jane was described as being “obsessed” with Fergie, with the dresser reportedly trying to imitate every aspect of her life from her personal style right through to her accent.
Jane went on to meet charismatic businessman Thomas Cressman while working for the Duchess and fell in love, before cracks in the romance ultimately led to “disastrous consequences”.
The former stockbroker and Jane had a promising beginning, but while on holiday he had reportedly snubbed any notion of ever proposing marriage. When they returned from their getaway, things spiralled between them.
Their argument became so intense Thomas phoned the police over fears for both their safety. Things had seemingly calmed as he excused himself and went to bed.
Sadly however, when he went to sleep Jane hit him with a cricket bat and stabbed him in the chest, killing him in their Fulham flat. She went on the run and police hunted for four days until they found her in her car in Cornwall overdosed on painkillers.
During the search, Fergie left her two voicemails, urging her to give herself up. Jane denied murder at her 2001 Old Bailey trial, and accused Thomas of being abusive and claimed she killed him by accident in self-defence.
The jury, however, found her guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. She was told by the judge: “In killing the man you loved you ended his life and ruined your own.”
The gruesome murder soon earned her the nickname “the fatal attraction killer”. Jane was later diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (now known as emotionally unstable personality disorder) during the murder trial.
She said in an ITV documentary that she had been subject to coercive control. After serving nine years of her sentence, Jane escaped from East Sutton Park Prison in Kent.
The former dresser was found in a hotel room with her family after three days. She was released from prison in August 2019 and has started a brand new life working for a charity-funded animal hospital.
However, Thomas’ brother Rick told the Mirror that he “can never be sympathetic” to Jane as she starts her new life while the family remain consumed by grief.
Rick told us: “I can never be sympathetic. She’s served her sentence. I can only say she has a life to continue with but the sentence for me and my family continues for the rest of our lives.”
Addressing the upcoming drama, he added: “It’s an ongoing concern. Four years ago ITV did a documentary which was done in an underhanded and dishonest way. It was a disgraceful documentary. It was trying to rewrite justice, we took great objection to that.”
He said he has received “a lot of reassurance” this would not happen again. “The worry is they will dramatise and fictionalise something that happened. It is very important that the truth is maintained,” Rick said.
“It is very important they don’t try to rewrite justice and the truth. It is risky territory that they are going down with a murder situation. It is a concern how he’s portrayed. It is important that we see and feel the real person Tommy was.”
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
