ITV is teaming up with the producers of The Crown for a true-crime series about the Duchess of York’s former aide Jane Andrews, who was convicted of murdering her boyfriend in 2001.
Titled The Lady, the partly fictionalised drama will tell Jane's story, charting her rise and fall over four episodes.
The series is penned by Debbie O'Malley, who is known for her work on Payback, Humans and Harlots, while award-winning director, Lee Haven Jones (The Feast, Passenger) will direct the series.
So, what can viewers expect?
The drama follows former royal dresser Jane Andrews, whose rags-to-riches fairy tale fell apart when she was convicted of murder.
© ShutterstockThe synopsis continues: "Once a young working-class girl from Grimsby, Jane answered an advertisement in the magazine The Lady 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.
© Getty"Soon cracks began to develop in the romance Jane had pinned all her hopes on, with disastrous consequences."
Set in Grimsby and London, filming for The Lady will begin during the early part of 2025 with casting details announced closer to the time.
Jane worked as a dresser for the Duchess of York for nine years until 1997. In 2001, she was convicted of murdering her lover, Thomas Cressman, after stabbing him with a kitchen knife and hitting him with a cricket bat while he was asleep at their west London home the year before.
© Ken McKay/ITV/ShutterstockShe was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old Bailey and later released in 2015 after serving 14 years.
The upcoming ITV series is produced by the multi-award-winning production company behind The Crown, Left Bank Pictures, and will air on ITV1 and STV and stream on ITVX and STV Player in the UK and BritBox in North America.
© NetflixWriter Debbie said in a statement: "When Jane Andrews was tried for the murder of Thomas Cressman in 2001 it made headlines around the world. 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."
