It was 1955. A blonde woman stood outside a pub in Hampstead, pulled a .38 Smith & Wesson from her handbag, and fired. David Blakely didn't stand a chance. That moment changed British legal history forever, leading to the last execution of a woman in the UK. We’ve seen this story before, usually through the lens of a "femme fatale" or a black-and-white crime reel, but A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story episodes take a much sharper, more uncomfortable look at the domestic abuse that preceded those shots.
Honestly, the way this show handles the narrative is fascinating because it doesn't just start with the murder. It builds a world of smoke-filled clubs and late-night racing pits that felt glamorous but was actually rotting from the inside.
The structure of the episodes and what they cover
You've probably noticed that ITV didn't go for a massive ten-part epic here. Instead, they kept it tight. This matters because it mirrors the claustrophobia of Ruth’s actual life. The series is essentially split into distinct chronological blocks that track her rise in the nightclub scene and her subsequent, devastating fall.
In the early parts of the show, we see Ruth (played by Lucy Boynton) as a club manager. She’s ambitious. She’s stylish. She’s trying to provide for her son in a post-war London that was still incredibly rigid about class and gender. When she meets David Blakely, the chemistry is immediate, but the red flags are there from the jump. The episodes do a great job of showing that "cruel love" isn't just a catchy title; it’s a description of a relationship built on obsession and physical violence.
As the middle episodes progress, the focus shifts toward the psychological breakdown. We see the miscarriage caused by David’s physical abuse. We see the manipulation by Desmond Cussen, the "other man" who eventually handed Ruth the gun. By the time you get to the trial episodes, the show isn't asking if she did it—everyone knows she did—but rather why the system was so eager to hang a victim of systemic abuse.
📖 Related: Howie Mandel Cupcake Picture: What Really Happened With That Viral Post
Why this isn't just another true crime rehash
Most people get the Ruth Ellis story wrong. They think of her as a cold-blooded killer or a woman scorned. But the writing in these episodes pulls from the biography by Carol Ann Lee, A Fine Day for a Hanging. It digs into the fact that Ruth was essentially suffering from what we would now call PTSD or Battered Woman Syndrome. In 1955, those terms didn't exist.
The pacing is deliberate. Some might find the middle sections slow, but they’re meant to feel heavy. You’re watching a woman being crushed by her circumstances. The show highlights the double standards of the era: David Blakely was a "troubled" playboy; Ruth Ellis was a "promiscuous" divorcee.
The legal defense was also a total mess. Ruth basically confessed her way to the gallows. When asked what she intended to do when she fired the gun, she famously said, "It was obvious that when I shot him I intended to kill him." In the 1950s, that was a one-way ticket to Newgate Prison. These episodes capture that chilling moment of honesty that sealed her fate.
The key players behind the scenes
It’s worth looking at the talent involved because it explains why the series looks the way it does. Kelly Marcel, who wrote Saving Mr. Banks and Venom, is the creator. That’s a wild range, right? But it works. She brings a certain grit to the 1950s aesthetic that prevents it from looking like a postcard.
👉 See also: Austin & Ally Maddie Ziegler Episode: What Really Happened in Homework & Hidden Talents
- Lucy Boynton as Ruth Ellis: She avoids the "Marilyn Monroe" caricature. She plays Ruth as someone tired, someone who is constantly performing for a crowd but is hollowed out behind closed doors.
- Toby Jones: As always, he’s incredible. He plays the defense lawyer who realizes, too late, that the law has no room for nuance.
- The Cinematography: It’s dark. Even the scenes in the Little Club feel dimly lit, like the walls are closing in.
Breaking down the trial and the aftermath
The final episodes of A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story are hard to watch. There’s no other way to put it. The production doesn't shy away from the reality of the death penalty. We see the public outcry—over 50,000 people signed a petition to save her—and we see the government’s refusal to budge.
Home Secretary Gwilym Lloyd George comes off as a particularly rigid figure. He believed that granting clemency would show weakness. The irony, of course, is that Ruth’s execution became the primary catalyst for the eventual abolition of the death penalty in Britain a decade later. She became a martyr for a cause she wasn't even trying to fight.
One detail the show hammers home is the role of Desmond Cussen. For years, historians have debated how much he pushed Ruth toward the murder. He gave her the gun. He drove her to the pub. He even taught her how to shoot it. The episodes handle this by showing him as a "nice guy" who was actually just as controlling as the man she killed. It’s a subtle, terrifying performance that adds a whole new layer to the tragedy.
What you should take away from the series
If you’re planning to binge the episodes, don’t expect a "who-done-it." This is a "why-was-it-allowed-to-happen." It’s a critique of a society that failed a woman at every single turn. From the men who beat her to the legal system that refused to hear her, Ruth Ellis was a casualty of her time.
✨ Don't miss: Kiss My Eyes and Lay Me to Sleep: The Dark Folklore of a Viral Lullaby
The series succeeds because it treats her like a human being rather than a historical footnote. It’s messy. It’s loud. It’s deeply sad.
Actionable insights for true crime fans
To get the most out of this story and understand the context that the episodes might skip over, consider these steps:
- Read the Original Sources: Pick up A Fine Day for a Hanging by Carol Ann Lee. It provides the factual foundation that Kelly Marcel used for the script.
- Research the Homicide Act 1957: Look into how this trial specifically led to the change in UK law regarding "diminished responsibility." It’s the direct legal legacy of Ruth Ellis.
- Visit the Locations: If you’re in London, the Magdala pub in Hampstead still stands. You can still see where the bullets hit the wall—a grim reminder that this isn't just a TV show.
- Compare the Media Coverage: Look up the 1955 archives of The Daily Mirror versus The Times. The class bias in how Ruth was described is eye-opening and helps explain the public’s divided reaction at the time.
By understanding the historical weight of the case, the episodes of A Cruel Love transform from a standard period drama into a haunting indictment of the past. The show doesn't ask you to forgive Ruth Ellis, but it does demand that you look at the bruises she was hiding before she picked up the gun.
The story of Ruth Ellis remains a pivotal moment in British culture because it forced a mirror up to the state's power over the individual. While the episodes provide a dramatized version of events, the core truth remains: a woman was killed by the state because the state didn't know how to protect her from the men in her life. This series ensures that her name isn't just associated with a gallows, but with the complicated, painful reality of the life she actually lived.