ITV A Cruel Love star Nigel Havers’ incredible real-life link to last woman hanged in UK

Nigel Havers, an actor, appears in the new true crime drama A Cruel Love, which centers on Ruth Ellis’ life.

Nigel, who is best known for his roles in Chariots of Fire, Coronation Street and the sitcom Don’t Wait Up, stars as his own grandfather, Justice Cecil Havers in the series. After being tried for the murder of her lover, David Blakely, in 1955, CECIL was the judge who sentenced Ruth Ellis to death.

A Cruel Love executive producer reveals that Nigel and her coworkers asked him to be in the series but that they weren’t sure if he would agree. “We had lots of conversations going, ‘ Oh, do you think he might? ‘ And he leapt at it”, she says. “We couldn’t quite believe it. So it was just amazing that he was playing his grandfather, it was extraordinary”.

Director Lee Haven Jones quotes him as having “a lot of small observations about what his grandfather would do.” “Apparently, his grandfather used to write constantly, be taking notes, and also enjoy betting on horses. So there were all these little details, and while we didn’t include them all, it was nice to know that the role had an authentic feel.

Lucy Boynton, a 28-year-old nightclub manager, who became deeply ingrained in a passionate but abusive relationship with racing driver David Blakely (Laurie Davidson), plays Ruth Ellis in A Cruel Love. What is now considered domestic violence was the beginning of their relationship when Ruth fatally shot David outside a Hampstead bar in April 1955. He was immediately tried for his murder and she was detained right away.

“It was such a tumultuous relationship, but they couldn’t stay away from each other”, Lucy explains. They were already cohabitating within weeks of meeting. They appeared to be enthralled by one another. Although it was difficult for us to comprehend it from the outside, it was incredibly entrancing. Then it quickly turned extremely sour. He was very jealous, yet also unfaithful. He would promise her marriage, then disappear for days or weeks, telling all his friends they weren’t together anymore, then would return to her begging her to take him back. Her friends were persuaded that he would murder her because of how violent his physical abuse got.

Lucy claims that the court scenes were some of the most difficult for her to film because Justice Havers oversees Ruth’s trial, which took just 20 minutes to convict her of murder.

“The courtroom scenes were very intense because all the dialogue was transcribed straight from the court transcripts for legal reasons and accuracy.” So that trial was exactly as it was described in full detail. How disconcerting it was to watch as Ruth’s story was misrepresented and misrepresented. Because David Blakely was a member of the upper class, it was deemed inappropriate to discuss his ugly behavior, leading to a total imbalance and misrepresentation of Ruth’s case.

“It was an incredibly intense shoot”, she continues. When we wrapped up the domestic violence, it was also difficult to let go of those scenes.

On ITV1, A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story airs on Sunday, March 2 at 9 p.m.

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Source: Mirror