DRESS TO KILL

Mia McKenna-Bruce and Ed Speleers chat with LYNN RUSK about their new series The Lady, based on the shocking true story of former royal dresser Jane Andrews

- 

WHEN Jane Andrews, former aide to Sarah Ferguson, was imprisoned in 2001 for the murder of her boyfriend, the case made headlines around the world.

Some 25 years later, Ferguson is herself embroiled in controversy after emails emerged revealing the former duchess's association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Amid the current scandal, a new TV drama miniseries charts the rise and fall of Andrews, who was given a life sentence for stabbing her boyfriend Tom Cressman to death after he refused to marry her.

For nine years, until 1997, Andrews, played by Mia McKenna-Bruce, worked as a dresser and assistant to Ferguson, who is portrayed in the series by Natalie Dormer, best known for her role in Game of Thrones.

In the four-part drama, written by Debbie O'Malley, Cressman is played by Outlander's Ed Speleers.

Mia, 28, who viewers recently saw in Netflix mystery Agatha Christie's Seven Dials, says she was fascinated by Andrews' story from the outset.

"When we first meet Jane, she's full of hope," she says. "She has this idealised vision of escaping the life she has and going to live in a palace.

"And I think, as a young girl, I had dreams like that too, that fairytale idea. All of that feels very familiar."

Andrews grew up in a workingclass family in Lincolnshire, and carved out a place for herself in high society after securing a position in Ferguson's inner circle.

The dream shatters before Jane's eyes when her marriage collapses and she is later fired by the Duchess after nine years.

When she finds romance with charismatic businessman Thomas Cressman, Jane's luck begins to change. However, their complicated relationship ends in tragedy with Andrews stabbing Cressman.