{"id":440978,"date":"2026-02-23T09:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T09:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/440978\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T09:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T09:10:11","slug":"the-lady-review-mia-mckenna-bruce-excels-in-this-jane-andrews-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/440978\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lady review \u2014 Mia McKenna-Bruce excels in this Jane Andrews drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you remember the good ol\u2019 days when Sarah Ferguson was just a slightly hapless freeloader who dressed like a window display in a hurricane and had an embarrassing sideline as the author of a children\u2019s book about a helicopter called Budgie? <\/p>\n

Recent events have somewhat altered both the public perception of the woman and her fortunes, and her terrible year will not be improved by the arrival of The Lady (ITV1), scriptwriter Debbie O\u2019Malley\u2019s four-part drama about another sorry, if slightly tangential, tale from the Fergie annals: her former dresser Jane Andrews\u2019s murder of her businessman boyfriend, Thomas Cressman. It is expertly put together and, at times, oddly moving and powerful.<\/p>\n

The Cressman family have had to live with the awfulness of what happened on September 17, 2000, and I suspect many people will not want to see this appalling story disinterred. But as a focus on a troubled woman\u2019s encounter with ambition, venality and a world of callous, gilded frippery, this is a surprisingly rich human study packed with unexpected tenderness. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Read more TV reviews, guides about what to watch and interviews<\/a><\/p>\n

Mia McKenna-Bruce, one of Britain\u2019s biggest rising stars, is outstanding. She allows us to root for Andrews in the early moments when she leaves Grimsby and a dead-end boyfriend and retail job to head to London for a dream posting in a palace. There are signs from the off that she is a vulnerable depressive with flashes of anger as well as charm and pizzazz. A parallel timeline of the police investigation led by Philip Glenister\u2019s DCI Keith Douglas shows us where this ended up, but the murder story is informed throughout by a wary compassion. We live, these days, in more understanding times.<\/p>\n

At Buckingham Palace she overhears other servants mocking her accent and dress sense. And at her first meeting with Natalie Dormer\u2019s duchess, her boss talks patronisingly about life \u201coop north\u201d. Yet while Andrews has loving, supportive parents and many opportunities, it\u2019s clear that the biggest obstacle is herself. \u201cWhy can\u2019t I be happy?\u201d is a common refrain, and a pattern of intense possessiveness and stalking is clear even before her ill-fated meeting with Cressman, played with likeable charm by Ed Speleers.<\/p>\n

\"Mia<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a surprisingly rich human study packed with unexpected tenderness\u201d<\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

This has the classy production values of The Crown (it\u2019s made by the same production company) and comes with that show\u2019s familiar narrative structure, where paired storylines comment on and contrast the other. Andrews and Ferguson were propelled to higher stations by dint of personality and neither fitted in; both were victims of their passions and appetites. <\/p>\n

Dormer, who has said she is donating her acting fee for the drama to childhood abuse charities, ably captures Ferguson\u2019s fey fecklessness. She is a tornado of red hair who, while not necessarily unkind, is unthinking, especially when she lets Andrews go for seemingly flirting with one of her alleged lovers. Her cack-handed manner even extends to the inelegant way she walks or sits on chairs. <\/p>\n

There are excellent supporting performances, with Ophelia Lovibond on particularly good form as a braying chum who teeters close to Sloane clich\u00e9 without toppling over the edge. The former Prince Andrew is often mentioned but does not appear. Small mercies, I suppose.
\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606
Available on ITVX<\/p>\n

Love TV? Discover the best shows on Netflix<\/a>, the best Prime Video TV shows<\/a>, the best Disney+ shows<\/a> , the best Apple TV+ shows<\/a>, the best shows on BBC iPlayer<\/a> , the best shows on Sky and Now<\/a>, the best shows on ITVX<\/a>, the best shows on Channel 4<\/a> streaming, the best shows on Paramount+<\/a> and our favourite hidden gem TV shows<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget to check our comprehensive TV guide<\/a> for the latest listings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Do you remember the good ol\u2019 days when Sarah Ferguson was just a slightly hapless freeloader who dressed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-440978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}