A mother's COURAGE

SHERIDAN SMITH on one woman's historic campaign to get justice for her murdered daughter

-  IAN MACEWAN

I FOUGHT THE LAW

NEW SUNDAY & MONDAY, 9PM, ITV1

DRAMA (BOX SET, ITVX)

Last year's BAFTA-winning, fact-based TV series Mr Bates Vs the Post Office memorably dramatised one man's indefatigable fight for justice.

Now, another long-running, real-life legal battle is being brought to the small screen in the ITV1 drama I Fought the Law, starring Sheridan Smith as Ann Ming, a Middlesbrough mother of three who campaigned tirelessly for her daughter's killer to be put behind bars.

After Ann's 22-year-old daughter Julie Hogg went missing in 1989, shocking failures in the police investigation were followed by the heartbreaking discovery that she had been murdered. When the prime suspect was acquitted and the 800-year-old 'double jeopardy' law prevented a retrial, despite him later confessing, Ann embarked on a 15-year quest to get justice, which saw her challenging the top legal authorities in the land.

Here, Sheridan, 44, tells us about playing Ann in the four-part series, which costars Daniel York Loh (Scarborough) as Ann's husband Charlie and Enzo Cilenti (The Serpent Queen) as DS Mark Braithwaite...

Sheridan, what appealed to you about playing Ann Ming?