ONE of the leading stars of HBO’s Game of Thrones will take on another royal role in a new ITV drama.
Natalie Dormer will play the real-life Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson in the four-part drama The Lady about a former royal aide turned murderer.
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York will be portrayed in the series by Natalie Dormer[/caption]
Jane Andrews served as a royal dresser for Fergie[/caption]
Dormer is known for her work on Game of Thrones and The Tudors[/caption]
The drama will tell the story of former royal dresser Jane Andrews, whose rags to riches fairy tale fell to shreds when she was convicted of murder.
Bafta-winner, Mia McKenna-Bruce (How To Have Sex), will portray Jane alongside Dormer and Ed Speleers (Outlander, Downton Abbey) who will play Thomas Cressman.
Jane started her life as a working-class girl, until she a magazine advertisement which amazingly led her to become the Duchess of York’s dresser at Buckingham Palace.
Thanks to her brush with the Royal Family, Jane was able to firm her spot in the upper-classes, until she suddenly lost her job with the Duchess after nine years.
As she comes to terms with her fall from the upper echelons of society, meets charismatic businessman Thomas Cressman and falls deeply in love.
But the romance is not all it’s cracked up to be and Jane’s hopes for the relationship lead to disastrous consequences.
Award-winning director, Lee Haven Jones (The Feast, A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, Passenger) will direct the series.
Dormer, 43, is best known for work as Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones and Anne Boleyn in The Tudors.
Jane worked for Fergie for nine years until 1997.
A few years later, she stabbed her lover, Thomas Cressman, to death with a kitchen knife at their west London home and was jailed for life in 2001.
The ITV drama about her life is set to be partially fictionalised and is penned by Harlots‘ Debbie O’Malley.
“When Jane Andrews was tried for the murder of Thomas Cressman in 2001 it made headlines around the world,” Debbie said in a statement.
“But behind those headlines, lay a much more complex, painful and thought-provoking story – an exploration of female ambition and human frailty and a devastating chain of events that ended in the taking of a man’s life.
“And this story, tied up with our national preoccupation with class and our ongoing obsession with the Royal family, feels every bit as relevant now as it did twenty years ago.”
Mia McKenna-Bruce will play Jane Andrews in the ITV drama[/caption]
Crime dramas on ITVX
Crime drama buffs have a wide selection of choices on ITVX – here is a selection of some of the programmes available to binge.
- Professor T: Based on a Belgian TV series of the same name, former Death in Paradise lead Ben Miller plays the title character. Professor Jasper Tempest is a criminologist with OCD who helps the police solve crimes. The cast also includes Emma Naomi, Barney White and Andy Gathergood.
- The Beast Must Die: This series follows a mother’s grief for her son, who was killed in an accident. Nicholas Blake’s novel of the same name has been adapted for the programme. Stars include Cush Jumbo, Jared Harris, Billy Howle and Geraldine James.
- Red Eye: Starring Richard Armitage, Jing Lusi and Lesley Sharp star in this six-part thriller, which mostly takes place during an all-night flight between London and Beijing. With dead bodies piling up and a mystery to unravel, the heroes must work fast to get to the truth.
- The Twelve: This Australian drama originally aired as a miniseries in 2022, with the episodes dropping in the UK in February 2023. Four months later, the show was renewed for a second season. Jurassic Park star Sam Neill stars in the leading role of barrister Brett Colby.
- Manhunt: Martin Clunes stars in this drama based on true murder investigations. Series one focused on the death of Amélie Delagrange, which took place in 2004, while the second depicted the search for serial rapist Delroy Grant.
