Bohemian Rhapsody's Lucy Boynton to star in ITV true crime drama
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Bohemian Rhapsody star Lucy Boynton has joined the cast of new ITV true crime series Ruth.
The actress will take on the title role of Ruth in the new four-part drama, which is based on the real-life murderess Ruth Ellis. She remains the last British woman to be hung by capital punishment back in July 1955.
The action will swap between two parallel timelines, showing both the events leading up to the murder of her lover David Blakely, and her subsequent legal case which ended in the death penalty.
An official synopsis reads: "The drama depicts Ruth's entry into a dizzying upper class London world that promises so much, but ultimately delivers treachery.
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"We follow her glamorous lifestyle as a young nightclub manageress, her abusive relationship with the man she later gunned down in cold blood, her arrest, trial and the subsequent legal fight to reprieve her before she was hanged by infamous hangman, Albert Pierrepoint, in Holloway Prison, aged just 28."
Boynton is no stranger to an ITV drama having recently starred in Agatha Christie's Why Didn't They Ask Evans? and The Ipcress File which also ran on ITV last year.
"Ruth Ellis' story is a fascinating one," says Boynton of the role. "Both she and this complex case have always evoked a strong reaction, and with Kelly's [writer Kelly Jones] insightful scripts I'm looking forward to bringing a new perspective to both familiar audiences as well as those who are unaware of her mark on British history."
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The series is based on Carol Ann Lee's acclaimed biography, A Fine Day for Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story, which has been adapted into scripts by Baptiste writer Kelly Jones.
It's being teased as a "compelling legal and emotional rollercoaster" which will be spearheaded by Vigil producer Angie Daniell and director Lee Haven Jones.
Ruth will premiere on ITV1 and the series will be available for streaming on ITVX.
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