FILMING UNDERWAY ON NEW ITV AND HERA PICTURES DRAMA I FOUGHT THE LAW STARRING SHERIDAN SMITH

‘Life is about the people you love… I wanted justice to be done’ - Ann Ming

Filming is underway on new ITV and Hera Pictures drama I Fought The Law, starring Sheridan Smith in the lead role.

The series portrays the heart-breaking, real-life story of mother, Ann Ming, and her fight to change the Double Jeopardy Law and see her daughter’s murderer brought to justice.

Written by screenwriter Jamie Crichton (All Creatures Great and Small, The Last Kingdom, Grantchester) and based on Ann Ming’s book For The Love of Julie, the series recounts how tenacious mother of three, Ann Ming, battled for 15 years so that her daughter’s murderer could finally face justice, having been controversially acquitted following two mistrials.

The cast also includes Daniel York Loh (Scarborough) as Charlie Ming and Enzo Cilenti (The Crown) as DS Mark Braithwaite.

The series will also feature Marlowe Chan-Reeves (Doctor Who), Olivia Ng (Phoenix Rise), Jake Davies (Grace), Victoria Wyant, Kent Riley (Mr Bates vs. The Post Office), Jack James Ryan (Passenger, Vera), Andrew Lancel (Unforgotten) and Rufus Jones (Hijack).

I Fought The Law tells how Ann and her family dealt with Julie’s disappearance in Billingham, Cleveland in November 1989 after working her late shift at a local pizza parlour.

Mother to three-year-old, Kevin, Julie was incredibly close to her parents, Ann and Charlie, and was only 22 when she died. Tragically, Ann found Julie’s body concealed in the bathroom of her modest terraced house in January 1990, 80 days after it was hidden behind the bath panel by her killer. This was in spite of extensive searches of the property by police forensics teams in the days after her disappearance, who failed to detect her body.

Dissatisfied with Cleveland Constabulary and their investigation, Ann challenged senior officers and applied pressure on the police to discover what had happened to her daughter and to prosecute the man who was guilty of her murder.  

The drama follows Ann and her family, as they campaign tirelessly in Julie’s name.

In her steadfast and indomitable style and despite her grief, Ann took on the Criminal Justice System, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Law Commission, eminent Defence Barristers in television debates, the Government, the Lord Chancellor, the Attorney General, and two Home Secretaries as she ‘fought the law.’

The four-part series has been commissioned for ITV by Head of Drama, Polly Hill and Senior Drama Commissioner Helen Ziegler, who will oversee production of the drama on behalf of the channel.  I Fought The Law will air on ITV1 and ITVX.

Hera Pictures (Mary & George, What It Feels Like For A Girl, Hamnet, Temple, Honour) will produce the series in association with All3Media International, with Executive Producers Liza Marshall and Charlotte Webber at the helm. The series is directed by Erik Richter Strand (The Crown) and produced by Mark Hedges (Time series 2).

Hera Pictures is a leading independent production company founded by award-winning Executive Producer Liza Marshall in 2017.

Filming is taking place in Teesside and surrounding areas, in collaboration with North East Screen via the North East Production Fund.

North East Screen develops and champions North East England as one of the UK’s leading film and TV production hubs where exceptional screen industry talent can live, create and work. They manage the North East Production Fund on behalf of the North East Screen Industries Partnership.

All3Media will be responsible for the international distribution of the series.