You probably didn’t find out about this part of royal family history in your World History class. BritBox has announced an upcoming four-part drama called The Lady with three cast members top-lining. Today, Mia McKenna-Bruce (How To Have Sex), Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones), and Ed Speleers (Star Trek: Picard) have been cast in the miniseries. McKenna-Bruce will take on the role of Jane Andrews, a former royal aide, who in real life was convicted of murder. Dormer will play Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Speleers will play Andrews’s lover, Thomas Cressman. Other members of the cast include: Philip Glenister, Claire Skinner, Laura Aikman, Ophelia Lovibond, Mark Stanley, Daniel Ryan, and Sean Teale.
The logline for The Lady is as follows:
“The Lady charts the rise and fall of former royal dresser Jane Andrews, whose rags to riches fairy tale fell apart when she was convicted of murder. 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. Still reeling from her fall from grace, Jane went on to meet charismatic businessman Thomas Cressman and fell deeply in love. Soon cracks began to develop in the romance Jane had pinned all her hopes on, with disastrous consequences.”
Did the Events of ‘The Lady’ Actually Happen?
In 1998, after losing her job as the royal dresser for The Duchess of York, Andrews met Thomas Cressman, played by Speleers in the miniseries. Their relationship would span two years until it all came to a head in the year 2000. After Cressman expressed that he had no intention of marrying Andrews, that’s when she supposedly snapped. Andrews was convicted of attacking her then-boyfriend with a cricket bat and stabbing him. Andrews was released on a conditional basis, but currently resides in a probation hostel since 2019. It’s unclear how far into the future after Cressman’s murder, if at all, the miniseries may take things. The series will obviously follow some of her time as a royal dresser for the Duchess of York, given Dormer‘s involvement, and ultimately see Andrews’ dismissal, but beyond that, it’s a lot of history to fit into just four episodes.
No release date has been set for The Lady, but it will premiere on BritBox in the US and Canada and on ITV in the UK.
via Collider