This article references suicide.
Of all the true crime dramas landing on our screens, it’s the ones rooted in real events that truly grip us — and The Lady is exactly that: a fictionalised retelling of a shocking real-life murder.
The first two episodes aired this week, starring Natalie Dormer as Sarah Ferguson and Mia McKenna-Bruce as Jane Andrews. Andrews, a working-class woman, rose to become Fergie’s royal dresser — before later standing trial for the murder of her boyfriend, Thomas Cressman.
Royalty, scandal, lust, fashion and murder — honestly, what more could you want from a TV show?
Better still (or perhaps more chillingly), it’s based on the true story that dominated tabloid headlines and captivated the public in the early 2000s. Here's everything you need to know about The Lady and the true story behind it.
The Lady tells the fictionalised true story of Jane Andrews and Sarah Ferguson.
- Who is Jane Andrews?
- How did Jane Andrews meet Sarah Ferguson?
- Was Jane Andrews ever married?
- Why did Jane Andrews leave the palace?
- How did Jane Andrews meet Thomas Cressman?
- Did Jane Andrews actually kill Thomas Cressman?
- Was Jane Andrews convicted of murder?
- Did Jane Andrews escape prison?
- Is Jane Andrews still in prison?
- Did Jane Andrews contribute to The Lady?
Who is Jane Andrews?
Born in 1967 in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, Jane Andrews grew up in a working-class household. Her father was a joiner and her mother a social worker. Academically bright, she secured a place at the local grammar school, but mounting family debts later forced a move to nearby Grimsby.
In a 2003 interview, Andrews recalled the financial strain vividly: “I remember one day we didn’t have enough to buy a loaf of bread and Mum had us looking down the sides of the settee and in our coats for money to scrape together.”
During her teenage years, she also began struggling with her mental health, experiencing depression, panic attacks and an eating disorder. At 15, she attempted to take her own life for the first time.
She later spoke about developing patterns in relationships that would continue into adulthood. “I would sleep with someone, possibly on the first date, because I was frightened if I didn’t they would go,” she told The Guardian. “I allowed men to do anything they wanted to me.”
Andrews’ school years were marked by truancy and turbulent relationships. After completing her O-levels, she chose not to pursue A-levels, instead enrolling to study fashion at Grimsby College of Art.
How did Jane Andrews meet Sarah Ferguson?
After graduating, Andrews worked as a sales assistant at Marks & Spencer in Grimsby when she spotted an advertisement in a magazine for a personal dresser. She applied, and six months later found herself interviewing with the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, who was then pregnant with Princess Beatrice.
The pair reportedly hit it off, and Andrews began the role in July 1988.
“I was running away from all the horrible things in my past that Grimsby represented,” she later said. “I arrived at King’s Cross with a suitcase and £10 in my pocket. I got in a taxi and said, ‘Side door of Buckingham Palace,’ and the driver made a joke.” When she arrived, flowers were waiting for her alongside a card that read, “Welcome to the team,” signed, “The Boss.”
Andrews quickly adapted to royal life, reportedly softening her northern accent, so much so that Fergie is said to have nicknamed her “Lady Jane.” She relished aspects of the role but also found it intense and all-consuming.
“I was a country bumpkin,” she told The Guardian. “Suddenly I was at Balmoral mixing with the royals, having long chats with Princess Diana. I was 21 years old and of course I enjoyed it. If my accent changed it was only because people made fun of the way I said ‘bath’ and ‘grass’. Fergie was headstrong, but she was good to me.”
In the introduction to one of her books, the Duchess paid tribute to Andrews, writing her “loyalty and kindness knows no bounds.”
We're still processing that finale.
Was Jane Andrews ever married?
Andrews was briefly married to Christopher Dunn-Butler, a man 21 years her senior, whom she had known for just three months before he proposed. The relationship quickly faltered. After a few years, the marriage was under strain; Andrews had several affairs and later described the pair as being “more like good friends” than husband and wife.
Not long after, she met Greek shipping magnate Dimitri Horne. The two began a passionate relationship and Andrews moved into a flat he shared — one reportedly rented for her by the Duchess.
When Horne told her he wanted to end the affair, the split turned volatile. Andrews later admitted to damaging items in the flat, prompting Horne to give a statement to police.
“On the mantelpiece in the living room was a cup and saucer that I knew was very special to him and I smashed it. I went through his journal with a black marker pen and blanked out all the references to myself. I picked up his telephone and smashed that as well,” she told The Guardian. “I’m ashamed of what I did. I’ve never done that to anyone else’s possessions.”
Following the breakup, Andrews attempted to take her own life again, but survived.
Why did Jane Andrews leave the palace?
In November 1997, Andrews was made redundant from her role at the palace. Just weeks earlier, Fergie had reportedly reassured her, “I’ll never get rid of you,” yet Andrews was not informed of the decision in person.
The redundancy was said to be part of wider cost-cutting measures within the palace, bringing her nearly decade-long time in royal service to an abrupt end.
How did Jane Andrews meet Thomas Cressman?
Andrews fell into a deep depression after losing her palace job and struggled to find new employment until she eventually secured a position with Knightsbridge jewellers Theo Fennell (father of Emerald Fennell) and Annabel Jones. It was there that she met Thomas Cressman in 1998.
Cressman came from a privileged background — his father had served as director of Aston Villa — and he himself had worked as a stockbroker. The relationship developed quickly, with later reports suggesting Andrews viewed the relationship as a path back into high society and became increasingly focused on the idea of a proposal.
However, the relationship was also reportedly volatile. Andrews has alleged that Cressman had an interest in kink and BDSM dynamics that she experienced as humiliating and emotionally distressing. She later described him as a commitment-phobe.
Did Jane Andrews actually kill Thomas Cressman?
In the summer of 2000, the pair travelled to the south of France, but the holiday reportedly ended in tension. Some accounts suggested Andrews was expecting a proposal, though she later disputed the claim that Cressman had explicitly rejected marriage during the trip.
The situation escalated after they returned to Cressman’s flat in Fulham. At one point, he called the police, telling the operator, “We are rowing — someone is going to get hurt unless… I would like the police to come and split us up.”
Police did not arrive before the situation worsened. Cressman was later found dead after being attacked with a cricket bat and stabbed with a kitchen knife. Andrews fled the scene immediately.
Shortly after Cressman’s death, Andrews contacted her ex-husband Christopher Dunn-Butler and sent text messages to friends asking about her partner’s whereabouts and wellbeing. She has maintained that she was not responsible for his death and has also claimed that Cressman was being blackmailed.
She was later discovered by police in a car in Cornwall after taking an overdose. She survived the suicide attempt and, after a police interrogation, Andrews was arrested and charged with Cressman's murder.
Was Jane Andrews convicted of murder?
Andrews went on trial for murder in 2001 amid intense tabloid scrutiny.
During the trial, her defence argued that Cressman had been physically and sexually violent towards her, and that her depression “would have heightened her sense of fear and helplessness.”
Cressman’s family rejected the claims, describing them as a “whole tissue of lies”. The jury ultimately convicted Andrews of murder rather than manslaughter.
During sentencing, the judge told Andrews, “In killing the man you loved, you ended his life and ruined your own.” She was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Did Jane Andrews escape prison?
In 2009, Andrews escaped from prison after being transferred to an open facility, climbing the perimeter walls. She was later found staying at a nearby Premier Inn with members of her family before being recaptured and returned to custody.
Everything you need to know.
Is Jane Andrews still in prison?
Despite multiple attempts to appeal her sentence, Andrews remained incarcerated until her release in 2019.
After her release, she briefly worked in a supermarket but lost the job when her identity became public. Now 57, she is reportedly employed at a charity-funded animal hospital.
Did Jane Andrews contribute to The Lady?
Harriet Wistrich, CEO of the Centre for Women’s Justice, who represented Andrews during her 2003 appeal, said that “she long ago served her prison sentence and has attempted to move on, but due to her past employment with the now discredited section of the Royal family, she continues to be the subject of media interest, intensified each time when yet another one-sided TV programme is made about her case.
“Jane has not contributed to The Lady despite it purportedly being about her life, nor has she contributed to any of the previous multiple TV documentaries made about her. The public are thus presented with a one-sided view that fails to explore why a vulnerable woman in her circumstances may have been driven to kill.”
The Lady is currently streaming on ITVX, starring Mia Mckenna-Bruce as Jane Andrews and Natalie Dormer as Sarah Ferguson.
