Sheridan Smith and Ann Ming reunited at Bianco restaurant, in Sunderland, ahead of the actress’s Woman in Mind performance at Sunderland Empire
Simon Duke TV & Showbiz Editor
11:35, 09 Mar 2026
Sheridan Smith and Ann Ming at Bianco in Sunderland(Image: Instagram)
Actress Sheridan Smith and Teesside legend Ann Ming formed a close bond following the powerful true crime drama I Fought The Law. And his weekend, Sheridan and Ann reunited at an Italian restaurant in Sunderland.
Sheridan played Ann in the ITV drama that was filmed in various locations across Teesside in 2024 and aired in 2025. It portrayed Ann’s unrelenting battle for justice for daughter Julie Hogg, after the young mum’s murder in Billingham in 1989.
Sheridan earned rave reviews from fans and critics for her portrayal of Ann, whose efforts to bring Julie’s killer, William ‘Billy’ Dunlop, to justice, led to a historic change to the double jeopardy law, that had stood for centuries.
Sheridan and Ann were by each other’s sides when I Fought the Law had its North East premiere at the Gala Theatre in Durham, with the thespian telling Teesside Live how she was completely in awe of the Teessider.
The pair caught up ahead of Sheridan’s Friday performance of Woman in Mind at Sunderland Emplire. Sheridan headed to Bianco restaurant, just a short walk from the Empire, to see Ann. Bianco shared a photo of the pair on their Instagram grid, writing: ‘It was a pleasure to have Sheridan Smith in with us tonight before the theatre in Sunderland. Sheridan also played the role of Ann Ming in the true crime I fought the Law, a very moving true story, if you haven’t seen this go and watch it and be ready to cry!!’
Sheridan, who shared the picture on her own Insta story, has been playing the lead part of Susan in Woman in Mind on Wearside this week, with the new staging of the 1985 Alan Ayckbourn play certainly giving its captive audiences plenty to think about.
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