Sheridan Smith has landed her next role in a "heart-breaking" ITV drama about a mother's fight to bring her daughter's murderer to justice.
Called I Fought the Law, it will be based on Ann Ming's memoir, "For the Love of Julie". Across four episodes, I Fought the Law will recount how Ming fought tirelessly for 15 years to get justice for her murdered daughter, and Sheridan Smith is on hand to play the lead role.
Of her latest role, she. said: "I am so honoured to have been asked to play the role of Ann Ming, a mother so determined to fight for justice for her murdered daughter that she spent 15 years campaigning for the Double Jeopardy Law to be changed.
"She is a truly courageous and remarkable woman to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude", she added.
ITV has also confirmed that the author will be acting as a consultant throughout the production process. Of the adaptation, Ming said: "I am very pleased that Hera Pictures will tell the story of my campaign to overturn the Double Jeopardy Law. My daughter's killer was wrongfully acquitted, and a number of years later confessed to her murder, for which he could only be prosecuted for perjury due to the 800-year-old Double Jeopardy Law. I wasn't going to let this stand in my way of getting justice for Julie.
"I'm overwhelmed that Sheridan Smith will be playing me. Having such an iconic and talented actress portray me is truly wonderful", she added.
I Fought the Law has been penned by screenwriter, Jamie Crichton (All Creatures Great and Small, The Last Kingdom). ITV's full summary for the series reads: "Jamie’s scripts are based on Ann’s book "For The Love of Julie" which tells how Ann 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. Raised in a loving home, she was incredibly close to her parents, Ann and Charlie. 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. This was in spite of extensive searches of the property by police forensics teams in the days after her disappearance, who failed to detect her body.
"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 follows Ann and her family, as they campaign tirelessly in Julie’s name.
"In her steadfast and indomitable style and despite her grief, Ann took on the Criminal Justice System, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Law Commission, eminent Defence Barristers in television debates, the Government, the Lord Chancellor, the Attorney General, and two Home Secretaries as she ‘fought the law.’"
I Fought the Law is due to start filming in Teesside and the surrounding areas in August 2024. A precise release date for the series has not been confirmed at the time of writing. For more great shows to enjoy, check out our guide to the best ITV dramas we think you should be watching on ITVX right now.
