The announcement of an ITV drama depicting the brutal murder of Thomas Cressman has plunged his grieving family back into trauma, with his brother Rick Cressman revealing the profound emotional distress caused by the production and contradictory statements from its cast.
A Painful Revival of Tragedy
When ITV revealed plans to produce a dramatisation of the 2000 killing, where Jane Andrews beat Thomas Cressman with a cricket bat as he slept before stabbing him in the chest, the victim's relatives were confronted with renewed agony. Rick Cressman, Thomas's brother, describes the experience as compounding their longstanding suffering, particularly following recent family bereavements.
Contested Claims of Family Involvement
Actress Mia McKenna-Bruce, who portrays murderer Andrews in the series titled The Lady, asserted in a recent interview that the production had the blessing of Thomas Cressman's family, stating explicitly: 'The family of Tommy were involved.' This declaration has been met with vehement contradiction from Rick Cressman, who labels it as naive and misleading.
Rick Cressman explains the family's precarious position, noting they received merely one week's notice from ITV in 2024 about the drama's production. Faced with what he describes as a 'fait accompli,' the hotelier reluctantly offered limited advice to producers, specifically to the actor portraying his brother, in a desperate attempt to ensure some authentic understanding of Thomas's character.
'We felt we had no choice but to cooperate,' Cressman reveals. 'It was presented to us as a fait accompli and all we could do was to give some advice to the actor playing Tommy, so he could try to understand my brother. It's naive of the actress [Mia] to think we wanted to cooperate. I feel emotionally and mentally distressed.'
Family Losses and a Sole Defender
The emotional toll coincides with significant personal loss for the Cressman family. Rick's beloved sister, Cathy, passed away yesterday in Spain at the age of seventy-two, leaving him as Thomas's last remaining close defender. This follows the death of their mother, Barbara, just last year, intensifying the family's vulnerability during this period of unwanted public scrutiny.
Context of the Drama and Cast Responses
The drama derives its title, The Lady, from the magazine where Andrews originally answered an advertisement to become a dresser for Sarah Ferguson, then the Duchess of York. Ferguson is portrayed in the series by Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer, who has taken a notably ethical stance regarding her participation.
Dormer announced she is donating her entire fee from the production to charities focused on combating child abuse, a decision linked to revelations about Sarah Ferguson's connections to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Furthermore, Dormer has stated she will not participate in promoting the programme, distancing herself from its commercial rollout.
Reflecting on the broader impact, Rick Cressman shared his perspective from 2024: 'It's a very cruel thing that ITV have commissioned a drama about it.' His words underscore the deep sense of exploitation felt by victims' families when true crime narratives are commercialised for entertainment, reopening wounds with little regard for ongoing grief.
