Tears for family of murdered man over new TV drama

The brother of a man murdered by a former royal aide said a new TV drama about his killer brought him to tears when he watched it, more than 25 years since the killing.

Rick Cressman's brother Tom was attacked with a cricket bat and fatally stabbed by his partner Jane Andrews, while he slept at their London home in 2000.

A new four-part ITV series called The Lady, which premiered on Sunday night, follows the life of Andrews, who was the former Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson's personal dresser.

Cressman, a business owner from Warwickshire, told the BBC: "By the time we got into the final episode, I was feeling very, very tearful."

He added that, as one of many TV productions to have been filmed around the murder, it was important to him to protect his brother's memory and legacy.

"Particularly for myself, it's been a changing scenario over 25 years," he said.

"By the time we finish the next one, that's on the go as well now, that ABC News and Disney Plus are doing... That will be the 12th TV production."

Speaking to BBC CWR ahead of the series, Rick Cressman said he had been concerned about ITV commissioning the drama and they gave him a private screening.

"It is a problem to fictionalise a genuine living story we're living and breathing; our family's here and I've always tried to cope with a lot of the intrusions that we've had to cope with," he said.

Rick Cressman said he had cooperated with the media over the years out of a sense of duty to his brother and protecting his memory had become more and more important.

"I can't have my brother's memory and legacy being besmirched by people just creating stuff," he said.

"It's very difficult and that was always the biggest issue for me, facing up to the announcement [in] December of 2024 that they were going to do a four-part fictionalised drama."

The Lady, from the makers of The Crown, is a described by ITV as a "gripping true crime drama" about Andrews, "whose rise and fall culminated in a brutal murder".

Andrews, from Cleethorpes, north-east Lincolnshire, was employed by Ferguson for nine years - and she was later involved in police efforts to track Andrews down.

The then-34-year-old had denied murdering Tom Cressman because he would not marry her but was ordered to serve at least 15 years in prison in 2001, after being convicted of the businessman's murder.

She was released in 2019.

Left Bank Pictures, who produced the drama for ITV, said it had contacted the Cressman family before the filming of The Lady began, to ensure they were aware of the drama and that the family were kept informed throughout production.

A spokesperson added: "The production company also held a private screening of all four episodes of the series for the family ahead of transmission on ITV to which Polly Hill, ITV's Director of Drama, attended and talked to them about their concerns.

"The aim has always been to approach the story with great care and responsibility, and to respect the people involved and we feel we have achieved this."

Rick Cressman said he believed those behind the series had originally tried to get ITV to commission it as a six-part series.

"I would have preferred them to have been able to include some of the things that I feel have not been included," he said.

"I think that's actually a shame. But without sufficient time... it's not possible to include everything."

For Cressman, the impact of his younger brother's death on his family was inescapable.

Tommy was not just a name in a headline - but a son, a brother, an uncle and a friend.

"For our family, we don't get a tariff on our sentence of 12 years or 14 years or whatever and our sentence is a genuine life sentence losing Tommy," he explained.

"When I'm with my nephews and nieces to whom Tommy was uncle Tommy and [when] I see my grandchildren that he'd have been a grand-uncle to and I see the weddings of my nephews and nieces.

"Some have known uncle Tommy, some haven't, but I always want them to know all about him."

Cressman described his brother, who was 39 when he died, as a "little charmer" and "cheeky little chap" who was loved by his friends and had "always loved to have fun".

Tommy was a "very determined sportsman", who loved rugby, waterskiing, fencing and water polo and occasionally played football.

"He was a very charming, likeable, easygoing guy," Cressman said.

"He was a lovely guy that liked to make things happen."

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