Sheridan Smith admits new role in true crime ITV drama is ‘hardest job I’ve ever done:’ ‘Emotionally taxing’
Actress Sheridan Smith has revealed that portraying Ann Ming in ITV’s upcoming drama I Fought The Law proved to be her most challenging professional experience to date.
Speaking to GB News and other media during the premiere event for the drama’s autumn release, the 44-year-old actress confessed she was reduced to “a shaking mess” whilst filming the true-crime drama.
“That’s right, yeah, it definitely is,” Smith confirmed when questioned about whether this represented her most difficult role yet.
The veteran performer described becoming deeply affected by the harrowing material, which chronicles the true story of a mother’s relentless pursuit of justice following her daughter’s murder.
“It was emotionally taxing for nine weeks and by the end of it I was a mess, I was a shaking mess,” Smith admitted to reporters.
The ITV production dramatises the real-life campaign of Ann Ming, whose daughter Julie Hogg was murdered in a case that would ultimately transform British legal history.
Ming fought to overturn the ancient Double Jeopardy Law after her daughter’s killer was initially acquitted, only to later confess to the crime and be given no consequence due to the ruling.
The drama, scheduled for broadcast this autumn, draws from Ming’s memoir For the Love of Julie and depicts her years-long battle against the 800-year-old legal principle.
Ming, now in her seventies, served as consultant on the production, working closely with Smith throughout the filming process.
The case resulted in a landmark legal change, allowing retrials in instances of proven wrongful acquittals where new evidence emerges.
Smith explained that she immersed herself completely in Ming’s experiences, researching extensively before filming began.
“When I got the script, I didn’t know the story so I got online and googled and watched all Ann’s documentaries, read a book For the Love of Julie, all in Ann’s words,” she revealed.
“And I just thought, ‘How has his story not been told yet?’ And then Jamie’s [Crichton] incredible script, the team on board.
“So, yeah, But it was, it was, as you can see, it’s a tiny part of what Ann came up against.
“The strength it must have taken for Anne to keep fighting, to have lived through that, to be here and to achieve what she did, I’m absolutely in awe of her, and she knows.”
The role marked Smith’s debut as an on-screen mother since becoming a mum in real life, which intensified her emotional connection to the material.
“It was my first role as a mum since, I was emotionally attached to the whole thing very early on,” the actress recalled.
She described constantly keeping Ming’s perspective in mind throughout production: “I kept thinking about Ann, I kept watching her and thinking about how she must have felt. It was important to me.”
Ming expressed deep admiration for Smith’s portrayal, declaring that no other performer could have captured the role more effectively.
“Nobody could have played it better than Sheridan,” Ming stated at the premiere, emphasising the authenticity Smith brought to the performance.
The campaigner explained her pragmatic approach to challenging the centuries-old legislation: “Never mind that it was an 800 year old law. I mean, that didn’t matter to me.”
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She highlighted the fundamental injustice that motivated her campaign, noting that whilst she would support freeing anyone wrongfully convicted, the reverse situation demanded equal attention.
“When it’s been a proven wrongful acquittal, such as our case, when a man confessed in court he murdered our daughter but because of an 800-year-old law he could only be charged with perjury, that was not right,” Ming explained.
Her efforts ultimately succeeded, securing a conviction in 2006.