Everyone thinks they know Ruth Ellis. She was the "blonde bombshell" who became the last woman hanged in Britain. It’s a story that’s been told in smoky black-and-white photos and tabloid headlines for decades. But the ITV drama A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story tries to do something different. It strips away the myth. To do that, you need a cast that doesn’t just play archetypes. You need actors who can handle the grime, the obsession, and the absolute messiness of 1950s London nightlife.
Lucy Boynton and the Weight of Being Ruth
Lucy Boynton takes on the lead role. Honestly, it’s a massive undertaking. Most people remember Ruth Ellis as a static image—a woman with bleached hair and a defiant stare. Boynton, who you probably recognize from Bohemian Rhapsody or The Politician, has this uncanny ability to look fragile and dangerous at the exact same time.
That’s the core of the cast of A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story.
The show doesn’t treat her like a victim or a villain. She’s a mother. She’s a nightclub manager. She’s someone trapped in a cycle of domestic abuse that the legal system of 1955 simply didn't have a vocabulary for. Boynton plays her with a sort of frantic dignity. You see the cracks in the "blonde bombshell" facade almost immediately.
The story focuses heavily on her relationship with David Blakely. It wasn't a romance. It was an addiction. When you watch Boynton’s performance, you aren't looking at a cold-blooded killer. You’re looking at someone who has been systematically broken down by a man who claimed to love her.
Toby Jones as the Man in the Shadows
Then there’s Toby Jones. He plays Desmond Cussen.
If you know the history, Cussen is the "other" man. He was the steady one. The one who provided Ruth with money, a place to stay, and—critically—the gun. Jones is a master of playing characters who are overlooked but essential. In this series, he’s the quiet enabler.
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He loves Ruth, or at least his version of her. But his love is just as stifling as Blakely’s violence. Jones brings a subtle, creeping desperation to the role. He’s the guy standing in the corner of the club, watching, waiting for his turn. It’s a brilliant bit of casting because it highlights the tragedy of Ruth's life: she was surrounded by men who wanted to own pieces of her, but none of them actually protected her.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster and the Toxic David Blakely
Thomas Brodie-Sangster plays David Blakely. This is a bit of a departure for him. We're used to seeing him as the sweet kid from Love Actually or the clever scout in The Queen’s Gambit. Here? He’s magnetic and terrifying.
Blakely was a racing driver. He was wealthy, handsome, and deeply violent. The chemistry between Brodie-Sangster and Boynton is uncomfortable to watch, which is exactly the point. It’s a "cruel love." It’s the kind of relationship that feels like a high-speed car crash in slow motion.
The production team, including director Joe Murphy and writer Silver Print Pictures, didn't shy away from the brutality. Blakely’s abuse isn't just physical; it's psychological. He’d disappear for days, then return and expect Ruth to be waiting. Brodie-Sangster captures that arrogance perfectly—the entitlement of a man who thinks he can do whatever he wants because of his social standing.
The Supporting Cast and the Atmosphere of 1950s London
The rest of the cast of A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story fills out a world that feels damp and claustrophobic.
- Joe Armstrong plays the detective tasked with making sense of the shooting outside the Magdala pub.
- Juliet Stevenson brings her usual gravitas to a role that represents the rigid moral backbone of the era.
- Laurie Davidson and Mark Rowley flesh out the social circles of the racing world and the nightlife scene.
The show spends a lot of time in the clubs. This wasn't the "Swinging Sixties." This was the mid-fifties—drab, post-war Britain where people used neon lights to hide the scars of the Blitz. The supporting actors do a lot of the heavy lifting to show the class divide. Ruth was a working-class woman trying to survive in a world of upper-class "gentlemen" who viewed her as disposable.
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Why This Version is Different
Most retellings of the Ruth Ellis story end at the gallows. They focus on the executioner, Albert Pierrepoint, and the final walk. A Cruel Love flips the script.
It asks: how did we get here?
The script is based on Carol Ann Lee’s biography A Passionate Murder. It’s a meticulously researched book that argues Ruth’s trial was a miscarriage of justice—not because she didn’t pull the trigger (she did), but because the provocation she suffered was ignored. The cast has to convey years of trauma in just a few episodes.
The Reality of the Magdala Pub Shooting
On Easter Sunday, 1955, Ruth Ellis waited outside the Magdala pub in Hampstead. When David Blakely walked out, she fired five shots.
The series handles this scene with a jarring lack of glamour. There’s no cinematic music. It’s just the sound of the gun and the immediate, crushing realization of what has happened. In the real trial, Ruth was asked what she intended to do. She famously replied, "It's very obvious that when I shot him, I intended to kill him."
That quote sealed her fate. But the drama explores the state of mind that leads to such a blunt confession. She was exhausted. She was done fighting.
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Understanding the Social Context
You can't talk about the cast of A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story without talking about the "moral panic" of the 1950s.
Ruth was a divorcee. she was a "nightclub hostess" (a term often used as a euphemism). She had children out of wedlock. To the jury and the public at the time, her lifestyle made her "fair game." The actors playing the legal figures in the show represent this wall of judgment. They aren't "evil," they’re just products of their time. They truly believed that a woman like Ruth was a threat to the social order.
The Impact of the Case
The execution of Ruth Ellis was a turning point in British history. It directly contributed to the eventual abolition of the death penalty. People were horrified that a woman who had been so obviously abused was sent to the gallows while the men who contributed to her downfall walked free.
What You Should Take Away
If you’re watching the series or just interested in the history, keep an eye on how the cast portrays the concept of "agency."
Ruth Ellis is often portrayed as a passive victim or a crazy woman. This show argues she was a woman making choices in a world where she had no good options.
Actionable Next Steps for History Buffs:
- Read the Source Material: If you want the full, unvarnished facts, pick up A Passionate Murder by Carol Ann Lee. It’s the definitive account of the case.
- Visit the Site (Virtually or In-Person): The Magdala pub in Hampstead still exists. You can still see the bullet holes in the wall, though there's a lot of debate about whether they are original or "re-created" for tourists.
- Compare Retellings: Watch the 1985 film Dance with a Stranger starring Miranda Richardson. It’s fascinating to see how the portrayal of Ruth has shifted from the 80s to the mid-2020s. Richardson’s Ruth is more brittle; Boynton’s Ruth is more modern in her internal struggle.
- Research the Legal Changes: Look into the Homicide Act of 1957. This law was passed largely because of the public outcry following Ruth’s death. It introduced the concept of "diminished responsibility," which almost certainly would have saved her life had it existed two years earlier.
The story of Ruth Ellis isn't just a true crime curiosity. It’s a mirror. It shows us how society treats women who don’t fit the mold, and the tragic consequences of a justice system that values "the letter of the law" over human reality. The cast of this series manages to make a 70-year-old case feel like it happened yesterday.