Sheridan Smith to lead ITV’s I Fought The Law

Sheridan Smith (The Castaways, Cleaning Up) will star in new ITV drama I Fought The Law, based on the true story of a mother’s battle to overturn the Double Jeopardy law and bring her daughter’s murderer to justice.

Written by Jamie Crichton (All Creatures Great & Small), the series focuses on mother-of-three Ann Ming, who spent 15 years fighting for the law to be changed after her daughter Julie’s killer was controversially acquitted after two mistrials.

Based on Ann’s book For The Love of Julie, it will tell how Ann (played by Smith) 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 and married to husband Andrew, Julie 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.

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 then follows Ann and her family as they campaign tirelessly to change the law in Julie’s name.

The four-part series comes from producer Hera Pictures (Mary & George) and will be distributed by All3Media International. Executive producers are Liza Marshall and Charlotte Webber.

Filming is due to commence in August 2024 in Teesside and surrounding areas. I Fought The Law will air on ITV1 and ITVX.

tagged in: All3Media International, Ann Ming, Hera Pictures, I Fought The Law, Jamie Crichton, Sheridan Smith