The latest ITV drama, A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, brings to light the life of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in Britain. The series is based on Carol Ann Lee’s bestselling biography, A Fine Day For A Hanging, and is set against the backdrop of 1955 London club-land, where Ruth gained fame as the capital’s youngest club manager.
Ruth Ellis (Lucy Boynton#) entered into a relationship with racing driver David Blakely (Laurie Davidson), which eventually turned violent, leading to his death. Ruth was arrested, charged with his murder, and sentenced to hang.
On July 13, 1955, at precisely one minute past nine, 28-year-old Ruth Ellis was hanged.
Ruth led a full life and had two children with different fathers. Both children faced difficulties growing up due to their association with their mother – but what became of them?
Who were Ruth Ellis’ children and what happened to them?
When Ellis was executed, she left behind her two young children, three-year-old Georgina and ten-year-old Andy.
The Express reports Clare Andria Neilson, known as Andy, grew up and recorded a series of interviews he conducted with the man who prosecuted his mother.
Andy wanted to refute the prosecutor’s portrayal of his mother as “cold-hearted”. He was taunted all his life about his mother to the point where he destroyed the marker on her grave at Amersham, St Mary’s Cemetery in Buckinghamshire.
Tragically, Andy died by suicide in 1982.
Georgina, the half-sister of Andy, was relocated to an adoptive family and grappled with the aftermath of her mother’s demise throughout her life. Known affectionately as Georgie, she led a fast-paced life that eerily mirrored her mother’s – a model, businesswoman, writer, and a friend to many celebrities.
She once had an affair with one of the Great Train Robbers, Charlie Wilson, and had high-profile relationships with footballer George Best and actor Richard Harris. In 1995, she published the book Ruth Ellis, My Mother, which offered insights into her memories of her mother and how Ruth’s life influenced her own.
Georgie married twice and had six children. However, her eldest daughter Laura Enston penned in The Telegraph about how Georgie’s lifestyle and behaviour impacted their family home and her childhood in Didsbury, South Manchester.
Laura reflected: “Lately, my attitude towards my mother has shifted to a more compassionate place. The government allowed Ruth to hang for her crime, and my mother never received any mental health support.
“I am guilty of underestimating the devastating impact this had on her.”
Georgina succumbed to cancer in 2001 at the tender age of 50. She had also advocated for Ruth’s conviction to be downgraded to manslaughter and wished for the case to be presented at the Court of Appeal.
Mr Blackburn from Beverley, East Yorkshire, said: “She was constantly reminded of it. Complete strangers would come up to her and ask her if she was Ruth’s daughter.
“It haunted her all her days.”
You can watch the first episode at 9pm on Wednesday, March 5 on ITV1 and ITVX.