A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story (2025) s01e01 Episode Script
Episode 1
1
(ethereal music playing)
(clock ticks)
(door opens)
(door clangs shut)
How lovely. Thank you, Joy.
(banging)
- (clatters)
- (gasps)
(quietly) Sorry.
(door opens)
It will calm you.
No, thank you.
(musical compact plays
"La Vie en Rose")
(tense music playing)
(sighs)
(muffled chatter)
David.
(gunshots)
(gunshot)
(door opens)
(man) Why did you do it?
Why did you have to kill him?
(heavy breathing)
(sombre music playing)
Nail file. Scent bottle. Lip brush.
Sixpence in copper. Powder compact.
(musical compact plays)
One 38 revolver
and six empty cases,
already in custody.
We've just seen the body
of David Blakely
at Hampstead mortuary. I understand
you know something about it.
Tell us about
how Blakely ended up dead.
I am guilty.
I am rather confused.
- (Vicki) Hold still!
- I've got lippy on, Vicki!
Hmm, not enough for Morrie.
Perfect. Drinks on you tonight?
If I get the job.
Knock him dead!
(Morris)
You're a good hostess, Ruthie,
but it's a big step
from hostessing to management.
Not many girls of your
background make it.
I know, sir, but I will.
A peer of the realm, an actor,
and a travelling salesman
all want a table.
You've got one left. Who gets it?
Well
the poshos get a kick
out of being treated like scum,
so you send
Lord Snootybollocks packing.
He'll tell all his mates
and come back for more.
The actor just wants free booze,
so you set him up at the bar,
let everyone get an eyeful.
Got yourself a gossip piece
in the Mirror next day.
Now, the salesman,
he may look shabby,
but he's got pockets full of cash.
A few years ago, he was a hero,
fighting Nazis.
Now he's flogging dusters
door to door.
You make him feel
like somebody again,
he'll spend everything he's got.
- He gets the table.
- (chuckling)
How's it going with the new bloke?
He sent me every bouquet
from The Dorchester's florist.
How did you meet him, anyway?
Stephen, obviously.
Of course, that bone-crunching
(whispers) pervert.
(Vicki scoffs)
He's been good to me.
Could introduce you to Lord Astor.
He's just got divorced.
No, thanks.
(Vicki) What you need
is a nice, rich husband,
big, posh house.
All you'd have to do
is spank him once a week.
- Thank you!
- (giggles)
Do you mind?
This is a private conversation.
- Shush, I know him from Carroll's.
- Oh.
Um, sorry.
I wasn't, um eavesdropping.
It's Miss Ellis?
Yes. Hello.
Desmond Cussen.
This is Vicki Martin.
My children, Andre and Georgina.
Oh, the Beano.
I'm more of a Magnet man myself.
Well, I was thinking that I might
go to Carroll's club tonight.
Actually, I'm not working there
anymore. Got a new job.
Oh, congratulations.
Thank you. It's at the Little Club.
Er, good goodbye, then.
Stephen Ward may be a perv,
but at least he's amusing.
(sighs)
It's, um very funny today.
Desmond?
Since I'm celebrating,
you can buy me a drink later,
if you like.
That would be lovely.
Shall we?
Evening, Reggie.
Evening.
Evening.
(Ruth) The club's reopening
next week, redecorated.
I'll be London's
youngest club manager.
Quite an achievement.
I've been working since I was 14.
Cinema, cafe, Lyon's Corner House.
Most of the money went
to my mother. Still does.
It's all I've ever wanted
to do, really, work.
I thought, um
girls mostly wanted to get married.
Tried that. No, thank you.
And the, um the children's,
um their father?
I'm separated from Georgina's,
and Andre's was killed in the war.
Hmm.
So, you've done all that
on your own.
I've done nothing with my life,
except turn my father's successful
business into a middling one.
(chuckles)
You, on the other hand
well, you're quite something.
Can I get you another drink?
I'm buying.
Oh! Sorry!
I suppose you're the hostess.
I'll have another gin and tonic.
As a matter of fact,
I'm an old has-been.
(scoffs)
(Ruth) Two vermouths, please.
And who is that pompous arse?
Some racing driver.
(heavy breathing)
You set out from home tonight
with a gun in your bag,
and you shot David Blakely.
- That is correct.
- Blakely was your lover.
Why did you want to kill him?
He hadn't picked me up
when he said he would.
He was drinking with some friends.
There was
some other woman there.
I became very furious.
Where did you get the gun from?
It was given to me
as security in a club.
- By whom?
- A man. I don't remember his name.
(suspenseful music playing)
When was this?
About three years ago.
Mrs Ellis,
when you put the gun in your bag,
did you intend to kill Blakely
with it?
Yes. I left Andre at home.
I took the gun,
and I got in a taxi to Hampstead.
Andre. Who's that?
My son.
Where's Andre now, Ruth?
(siren wails)
(doorbell buzzes repeatedly)
Yes, can I help you?
Detective Inspector Peter Gill.
Andre, the son
of Mrs Ruth Ellis, where is he?
It's room number five.
- (Andre) Mum?
- (neighbour) It's all right, Andre.
Go back to sleep.
(scrubbing)
(cat meows)
(cat meows)
(phone rings)
Hello?
(Ruth) I can't afford to pay
solicitors' fees, Mr Bickford.
That's all in hand.
Mrs Ellis, you have signed
a written statement,
admitting your guilt,
without any legal advice.
(Ruth) Well, I am guilty.
I've already agreed to tell
the court I fully intended
- to shoot David
- (Bickford) Stop there.
Do you feel quite well?
- Have the police treated you well?
- Perfectly.
Ever been in any trouble
with them before?
Certainly not.
Why did you decide
to do what you did earlier tonight?
I was in a rage
at the way David and his friends
were treating me, laughing at me
hanging up when I tried to call,
like I was nothing.
You killed him because
he wouldn't answer the phone?
When did you decide
you were going to do this?
(suspenseful music playing)
Yesterday morning.
I hadn't been able to sleep.
I hadn't been able to find David.
I suddenly had an overwhelming
and peculiar desire to kill him.
You thought he was
with another woman,
and you lost control?
No, I saw things clearly
for the first time.
Has a doctor ever treated you
for mental instability?
I'm not cuckoo,
if that's what you mean.
No, no, no, of course.
But it's important that we explore
every possible line of defence.
You don't understand, Mr Bickford.
I'm not interested in any defence.
(Bickford) You've admitted
to a capital crime.
Without mitigation,
without a defence,
any judge would be forced to
To hang me, yes.
I chose to do what I did.
I don't regret it.
I don't ask you, or anyone else,
to plead for my life.
An eye for an eye.
I took David's life.
I don't ask you to save mine.
(sombre music playing)
(door clangs)
(key turns in lock)
(breathes heavily)
(gasps)
(music fades)
(Ruth) Just over there
by the piano, Sam. Lovely.
What do you think? Too much?
- I think it's perfect.
- Thanks, Jackie.
Almost.
(muffled music)
(upbeat jazz music plays)
(Ruth) Good evening. Welcome.
(customer)
Ruth, you look wonderful!
(Ruth) Thank you.
- Vicki, what do you think?
- (Vicki gasps)
Bloody gorgeous!
- Hello, Cooch. (kisses)
- Hi.
- Wow.
- Champagne?
Oh, please.
A Champagne each
for Vicki and Cooch.
I've seen you before.
You look different.
I was probably rather rude to you.
I probably deserved it.
Can I buy you a drink?
I run this place, Mr Blakely.
Let me get you one.
(David chuckles)
- Well remembered.
- I'm very good at my job.
Mm. A little too much tonic.
Perhaps you should
go back to Carroll's.
Most nights, I'm at
the Steering Wheel Club, actually.
- I'm a
- Racing driver. I know.
I expect you're waiting for me
to ask you about it.
I travel all over Europe.
I meet a lot of famous people.
You think I should go weak
at the knees for your little hobby.
I was once engaged
to a Canadian Air Force pilot.
Now, flying, that's something,
not just racing toy cars.
Oh, believe me, they're not toys.
(tense music playing)
Who's he? Your boyfriend?
- Do you care?
- Not particularly.
I think you do.
I think you came here for me.
I'm not taken by this little
international playboy act.
I think you're a spoiled brat
spending Daddy's money,
and you are too used
to getting your own way.
(upbeat jazz music resumes)
I do always get my own way.
(music concludes)
- This one's on me.
- Thank you.
Ruthie looking after you all right?
Always. (chuckles softly)
You need some extra special
looking after, you let her know.
Oh, that's not, um
Have lunch with me tomorrow.
Gosh, I'm so busy with the place
You could bring Andre and Georgina,
and we could do whatever you want.
Andre has been going on
about the zoo.
The zoo, it is.
Um, I could, er
pick you up at ten?
(gasps)
(both breathing heavily)
(tense music playing)
I haven't been able to get you
out of my mind.
I know.
You've been thinking about me, too.
(breathing heavily) About what
an arrogant bastard you are.
(chuckles softly) It's all an act.
But you know that, don't you?
Because you are, too.
(cat meows)
(music fades)
(Davies) Mr Bickford.
Just in time for Peter's round.
Have you dusted the gun
for fingerprints?
Whose prints
would we be looking for?
Half a dozen witnesses
saw her shoot Blakely.
The question is,
who gave her the gun?
She claims it was security
for a loan, at the Little Club,
that she kept it in a drawer
for three years.
- (Davies) And?
- We both know
that can't possibly be true.
That gun hasn't been sitting
in a drawer.
It's in perfect working condition.
It's oiled.
You're a two-bob brief,
not an arms expert.
I prosecuted war crimes in Austria.
Believe me, I know guns.
Does anything about this crime
make any sense to you at all?
A young woman
with no previous record.
Never even fired a gun.
Twenty years of policing
have taught me
anyone is capable
of almost anything.
Have you conducted
even the most cursory investigation
into where she obtained that gun?
What I am investigating
is the murder
of an innocent young man,
and what interests me
are the four bullets that that gun
and your client put into him. Hey!
You know David went down
after the first shot?
He was on the ground
when she fired the next three.
Point-blank range.
Tell your client
to do the decent thing,
spare his family a trial.
(magistrate) Ruth Ellis,
you have been charged
with the murder of David Blakely.
You will appear in this court
to enter a plea in ten days' time.
Until then,
you will be remanded in custody
at Holloway women's prison.
(sombre music playing)
(Bickford) Where did the gun
come from, Ruth?
I told you. Security for a loan.
If I'm to defend you,
I need you to be honest with me.
Honest, Mr Bickford?
My parents had a visit
from a journalist at The Mirror.
Says his newspaper are paying
my legal fees, your fees.
That's why you turned up
the night I was arrested
because a tabloid
wants an exclusive.
Someone's put you up to this.
Someone gave you the gun,
and you're protecting them.
(guard) This way, miss.
(tense music playing)
(ethereal music playing)
(Ruth) Look how long
your eyelashes are.
(music fades)
(Ruth) Are you wearing mascara?
I once threw a girl
in Frensham Ponds for asking that.
Naughty boy.
You don't know the half of it.
I heard you once drove
a Bentley round the Albert Hall
at 60 miles per hour.
Mm. Didn't get caught, though.
(Ruth chuckles softly)
I'm late. (kisses, groans)
(Ruth) Late for what?
Race meeting in Surrey.
(sombre music playing)
Well, you can show me
what all the fuss is about, then,
with your toy cars.
Hmm? I'll pack a Champagne picnic.
(kisses)
- I tell you, green is your colour.
- (Ruth chuckles)
(intriguing music playing)
Thank you.
Now, mind your fingers.
All right, are you all in?
(Ruth giggles)
Whoo! (giggles)
It's a Twin Cam version
of the 1,500 Singer HRG.
(both chuckle)
Give me that!
Look, we call it the Emperor.
This car is gonna make my name.
- You don't believe me!
- Hmm.
(shrieks, giggles)
The Emperor has arrived!
- (Ant) Ah, David.
- (Carole) David, darling!
How's she running?
(David) Like silk,
old boy, like silk.
It's a beautiful day for it, eh?
(Clive) Good to see you, David. Hi.
This is Clive Gunnell
- and Anthony Findlater.
- Hello.
Ant's been working
on the car with me.
He's the money, and I'm the brains.
- Hello.
- And this is Carole Findlater.
Carole, Ruth Ellis.
Ruth works at the Little Club.
- (Carole) Does she now?
- Manages it, actually.
We brought Champagne!
(Ant) Ah, let's crack it open,
shall we? Good choice.
(Carole) Come along.
So, what did you think
of the Emperor?
- (upbeat music playing)
- Don't tell David,
but I thought it was thrilling!
You're very sweet.
David, stop that!
- (David laughing)
- David, watch out!
Are they always like this?
Ant's never entirely trusted him,
ever since
Since what?
It's no secret.
David and I had a tendresse.
An affair, darling.
All very much in the past.
We laugh about it now.
But Well, I'm afraid
Ant never finds it very funny.
(Ant) Carole, darling, we're off.
Now, I do hope we see you again.
One never knows with David,
but I'm keeping my fingers
firmly crossed for you.
- Coming!
- (Ant) David's being naughty.
(sombre music playing)
I'm so sorry
to put you all through this.
You have to plead insanity.
I was sane when I did it.
I meant to do it. I won't lie.
(music concludes)
What about Andre?
(Ruth) It'll be all right, Mum.
It's all right.
He's going to be taken care of.
It's all arranged.
Arranged with who? Who, Ruthie?
(Bertha) She swears she was sane
when she did it.
And I know my daughter.
Stubborn as a mule
when she wants to be.
- What's gonna happen to her?
- (Bickford) I need something
to to mount some sort
of defence. (sighs)
She won't tell me
where she got the gun,
and her reasons
for wanting Blakely dead
make precious little sense.
You know he knocked her about?
- David was violent towards her?
- She does pick 'em, our Ruth.
She has a history
of violent relationships?
Her ex-husband, George Ellis,
handy with his fists, too.
I don't know what went wrong.
She was such a
happy little girl,
a ray of sunshine.
- (sniffles)
- (sombre music playing)
- Are you all right, love?
- I'll just get you some water.
(sobbing)
(Bickford) Muriel?
Is there anything you can tell me
that might help your sister?
(Arthur) Muriel?
Ruth, she lost a baby recently.
It was David's.
(giggling)
Stop!
Jackie.
(Ruth giggles)
(clattering)
- Jackie, will you help Mr Cussen?
- (David) Come on!
(Jackie) Yes, of course.
(pounding on door)
(Morris) Not good for business,
favouring some punters,
neglecting others.
Go home to your wife, Morris.
Oh, lover boy doesn't know,
does he?
Her rate's ten quid a night.
Worth every penny.
She asked you to leave.
Piss off, Little Lord Fauntleroy!
(David) You know,
I don't think I will.
I think I'll be staying tonight
and tomorrow night.
In fact, I'm moving in,
so there'll be
no more late-night calls
from you
or any other sweaty old bastards,
unless you want my stepfather
to speak to his good friend,
the Commissioner at Scotland Yard,
and tell him
you're running a brothel.
Clean up the bar downstairs.
It's a bloody state!
(drink pours)
Did you mean it?
(mellow music playing)
I want to live with you.
So, how many have you had up here?
- "How many"?
- (David) Men.
(music turns ominous)
It's gonna have to stop,
you know
'cause I'm not gonna be able
to stand it.
(Ruth choking)
I'm awfully afraid
I'm falling in love with you.
(Ruth chokes)
(Bickford) He beat you, didn't he?
(music concludes)
"Body covered in large bruises
with the skin broken in places.
"Temporary deafness in one ear.
Strangulation bruises on neck.
- (sombre music playing)
- (Bickford) "Recent pregnancy loss,
likely due to blows
to the abdomen."
This is what your doctor recorded.
Why didn't you tell the police?
- They never asked.
- (Bickford) You lost a baby
because David beat you.
There are four defences to murder,
self-defence, insanity,
proof you didn't do it.
But we can't use any of those.
The fourth is provocation.
If David did something
so terrible to you
it caused you
to temporarily lose control,
that could be a defence.
(choking)
(gasps)
Get back into bed now!
I didn't lose control.
If you could be honest
about what you've suffered,
if you can gain their sympathy,
then the jury
could recommend mercy.
I won't stand
in a courtroom and beg,
and I didn't kill David
because he beat me.
Why did you kill him?
You wouldn't understand.
You think I'm just
a drab little man
in a suit. (chuckles dryly)
Perhaps I am.
But men like me, we've seen
things you can't imagine.
Inconceivable acts of cruelty,
inconceivable suffering.
And always, the impulse
is never to speak of it again
because to speak of it
makes it real.
I know you're lying
about the murder.
You said it was a black cab
dropped you at the Magdala pub,
but not one cabbie
has come forward.
I've met a lot of London cabbies,
and they remember
who's in the back of their cars,
especially when they're blondes,
all over the papers
accused of murder.
Right. That's all, Mr Bickford.
(Joy) Mr Bickford,
these came for Mrs Ellis.
She's sent these every day.
(music intensifies)
(breathing shakily)
Mrs Ellis has been remanded
in Holloway Prison,
- charged with murder.
- (music concludes)
I have been instructed
to act as her solicitor.
I believe you're a friend of hers,
more than a friend.
Well, I wouldn't say that.
Someone must have helped her.
Someone must have given her a gun.
Was it you?
(ominous music playing)
I have only her interests in mind.
(music intensifies, fades)
It was Desmond Cussen
who gave you the gun,
drove you to the Magdala.
He confessed to me.
He wouldn't say much.
He's lying.
- I have to tell the police.
- No!
I'd be struck off.
I could be prosecuted.
I'll plead not guilty.
That's what you want, isn't it?
I will let you fight my case
in court,
but his name stays out of it.
I'd be committing a crime,
withholding Cussen's confession
from the police.
I could be seen as an accessory
to murder after the fact.
You'd be committing perjury.
These are my terms.
Well, I can't accept them.
Fine. I never wanted a lawyer,
Mr Bickford.
I want to plead guilty.
But you are the one who is
so concerned with saving my life,
though I haven't
quite worked out why.
These terrible things you saw.
I suppose they happened in the war?
Was it you who did them?
So, this is all, what?
Penance?
I'm sorry I wasn't able
to help you, Mrs Ellis.
Mr Bickford, I'll do it.
I'll do the trial your way.
You can use provocation as defence.
You can go for manslaughter.
(Bickford) If we do this
you must do everything I ask,
give evidence in your own defence.
And his name stays out of it.
(phone rings)
Knightsbridge and 044.
Jackie, it's Ruth.
Ruth!
I need to know
he's being taken care of properly.
(Jackie over phone) Who?
David.
(MUSIC: "I Still Believe"
by Ronnie Hilton)
# I still believe
# We were meant for each other
# I still believe
# That you're mine
And no other's #
What's your real voice?
What?
Your accent.
I know it's not this fake
telephone voice you put on.
Where did you grow up?
We moved around.
Manchester, Basingstoke.
- I was born in Rhyl.
- (David) Mm-hm?
I've never met anyone from Rhyl.
Hmm.
Well, we're a very exotic breed.
You're different
to the girls I know.
Carole?
That's all over.
It's you I want
and only you.
# I still believe #
(knock on door)
(song stops)
He won't give you what you deserve,
you know. He'll never marry you.
Oh, for Christ's sake,
who said anything about marriage?
You could have everything you want,
everything the children want.
You could be set for life with me.
(Desmond) How much have you had
to drink? Come on.
Who you are, what you do
it doesn't matter to me,
but it does to him.
You don't know that.
I do.
(sombre music playing)
(Desmond) He's engaged.
- What is this?
- Bugger off home to bed, old chap.
No, you should leave.
You know you're a joke to her.
I flew Lancasters in the war.
I dropped bombs on German children.
And for what?
To defend entitled boys like you,
who take everything that they want,
and they never give a second's
thought to the people they destroy.
Well, sooner or later,
the bill will come in.
(David scoffs)
Well.
Is it true?
It isn't real. It's for my mother.
For your mother?
Should have known
that's what you were doing here,
- hiding from Mummy!
- Stop it.
I was right about you.
Playing with your toy cars.
Playing at being a man.
'Cause you're not, are you?
You're just
a frightened little boy.
The "Emperor"?
It's you that's the joke
(thuds)
(suspenseful music playing)
(sombre music playing)
(Ruth) Dear Mrs Blakely,
no doubt these last few days
have been a shock to you.
The two people I blame
for your son's death, and my own,
are his so-called "friends",
the Findlaters.
You will not understand this yet,
but perhaps before I hang,
you will.
I'm so sorry.
I implore you to forgive David
for living with me,
but we were very much in love
with one another.
Unfortunately,
David was not satisfied
with one woman in his life.
I shall die loving your son.
And you should feel content
that his death has been repaid.
(sobbing)
It's all right. It's all right.
Goodbye. Ruth Ellis.
(Bickford) It was Desmond Cussen
who gave you the gun.
- I have to tell the police.
- No!
(Bickford) I'd be struck off.
I could be prosecuted.
I will let you fight my case
in court,
but his name stays out of it.
These are my terms.
(music fades)
(magistrate) Ruth Ellis,
you are charged
with the murder of David Blakely.
How do you plead?
Not guilty.
(hushed murmuring)
(Bickford)
They've called Desmond Cussen
as a witness for the prosecution.
The prosecution?
What do they know about Desmond?
(Bickford) I don't know,
but when this goes to trial,
Desmond will be speaking
against you.
Everything he's seen you suffer,
we can't use it.
But it's not too late to go to
the police and tell them about it.
There is nothing to tell.
There's something you need
to understand, Ruth.
You represent everything they fear,
and they're going
to try to destroy you.
- "They"?
- (Bickford) The police,
newspapers,
even the courts.
An ambitious woman,
no respect for class boundaries,
no respect for sexual boundaries.
A mother who has, as they see it,
abandoned her children.
You have used everything to try
to advance yourself
at the expense of everything
they value,
and they won't forgive you for it.
You're going to be on trial
for far more than murder
and we will need to use
everything we have.
I won't betray anyone.
Well, then, I hope to God
we can say the same of him.
(tense music playing)
It will all come out at the trial,
what you put her through,
what you made her suffer.
Hey, why put this family
through a pointless trial?
Because I believe
she's not guilty of murder.
You've seen the press here.
You know
this'll be the biggest case
of both our careers.
And I promise you,
I will see her hang.
Why has the Crown called
Desmond Cussen as a witness?
What's he given them?
See you in court.
(muffled clamouring)
(music rises)
(camera shutters click
repeatedly)
(camera shutters click)
(music softens)
(music concludes)
(ethereal music playing)
(clock ticks)
(door opens)
(door clangs shut)
How lovely. Thank you, Joy.
(banging)
- (clatters)
- (gasps)
(quietly) Sorry.
(door opens)
It will calm you.
No, thank you.
(musical compact plays
"La Vie en Rose")
(tense music playing)
(sighs)
(muffled chatter)
David.
(gunshots)
(gunshot)
(door opens)
(man) Why did you do it?
Why did you have to kill him?
(heavy breathing)
(sombre music playing)
Nail file. Scent bottle. Lip brush.
Sixpence in copper. Powder compact.
(musical compact plays)
One 38 revolver
and six empty cases,
already in custody.
We've just seen the body
of David Blakely
at Hampstead mortuary. I understand
you know something about it.
Tell us about
how Blakely ended up dead.
I am guilty.
I am rather confused.
- (Vicki) Hold still!
- I've got lippy on, Vicki!
Hmm, not enough for Morrie.
Perfect. Drinks on you tonight?
If I get the job.
Knock him dead!
(Morris)
You're a good hostess, Ruthie,
but it's a big step
from hostessing to management.
Not many girls of your
background make it.
I know, sir, but I will.
A peer of the realm, an actor,
and a travelling salesman
all want a table.
You've got one left. Who gets it?
Well
the poshos get a kick
out of being treated like scum,
so you send
Lord Snootybollocks packing.
He'll tell all his mates
and come back for more.
The actor just wants free booze,
so you set him up at the bar,
let everyone get an eyeful.
Got yourself a gossip piece
in the Mirror next day.
Now, the salesman,
he may look shabby,
but he's got pockets full of cash.
A few years ago, he was a hero,
fighting Nazis.
Now he's flogging dusters
door to door.
You make him feel
like somebody again,
he'll spend everything he's got.
- He gets the table.
- (chuckling)
How's it going with the new bloke?
He sent me every bouquet
from The Dorchester's florist.
How did you meet him, anyway?
Stephen, obviously.
Of course, that bone-crunching
(whispers) pervert.
(Vicki scoffs)
He's been good to me.
Could introduce you to Lord Astor.
He's just got divorced.
No, thanks.
(Vicki) What you need
is a nice, rich husband,
big, posh house.
All you'd have to do
is spank him once a week.
- Thank you!
- (giggles)
Do you mind?
This is a private conversation.
- Shush, I know him from Carroll's.
- Oh.
Um, sorry.
I wasn't, um eavesdropping.
It's Miss Ellis?
Yes. Hello.
Desmond Cussen.
This is Vicki Martin.
My children, Andre and Georgina.
Oh, the Beano.
I'm more of a Magnet man myself.
Well, I was thinking that I might
go to Carroll's club tonight.
Actually, I'm not working there
anymore. Got a new job.
Oh, congratulations.
Thank you. It's at the Little Club.
Er, good goodbye, then.
Stephen Ward may be a perv,
but at least he's amusing.
(sighs)
It's, um very funny today.
Desmond?
Since I'm celebrating,
you can buy me a drink later,
if you like.
That would be lovely.
Shall we?
Evening, Reggie.
Evening.
Evening.
(Ruth) The club's reopening
next week, redecorated.
I'll be London's
youngest club manager.
Quite an achievement.
I've been working since I was 14.
Cinema, cafe, Lyon's Corner House.
Most of the money went
to my mother. Still does.
It's all I've ever wanted
to do, really, work.
I thought, um
girls mostly wanted to get married.
Tried that. No, thank you.
And the, um the children's,
um their father?
I'm separated from Georgina's,
and Andre's was killed in the war.
Hmm.
So, you've done all that
on your own.
I've done nothing with my life,
except turn my father's successful
business into a middling one.
(chuckles)
You, on the other hand
well, you're quite something.
Can I get you another drink?
I'm buying.
Oh! Sorry!
I suppose you're the hostess.
I'll have another gin and tonic.
As a matter of fact,
I'm an old has-been.
(scoffs)
(Ruth) Two vermouths, please.
And who is that pompous arse?
Some racing driver.
(heavy breathing)
You set out from home tonight
with a gun in your bag,
and you shot David Blakely.
- That is correct.
- Blakely was your lover.
Why did you want to kill him?
He hadn't picked me up
when he said he would.
He was drinking with some friends.
There was
some other woman there.
I became very furious.
Where did you get the gun from?
It was given to me
as security in a club.
- By whom?
- A man. I don't remember his name.
(suspenseful music playing)
When was this?
About three years ago.
Mrs Ellis,
when you put the gun in your bag,
did you intend to kill Blakely
with it?
Yes. I left Andre at home.
I took the gun,
and I got in a taxi to Hampstead.
Andre. Who's that?
My son.
Where's Andre now, Ruth?
(siren wails)
(doorbell buzzes repeatedly)
Yes, can I help you?
Detective Inspector Peter Gill.
Andre, the son
of Mrs Ruth Ellis, where is he?
It's room number five.
- (Andre) Mum?
- (neighbour) It's all right, Andre.
Go back to sleep.
(scrubbing)
(cat meows)
(cat meows)
(phone rings)
Hello?
(Ruth) I can't afford to pay
solicitors' fees, Mr Bickford.
That's all in hand.
Mrs Ellis, you have signed
a written statement,
admitting your guilt,
without any legal advice.
(Ruth) Well, I am guilty.
I've already agreed to tell
the court I fully intended
- to shoot David
- (Bickford) Stop there.
Do you feel quite well?
- Have the police treated you well?
- Perfectly.
Ever been in any trouble
with them before?
Certainly not.
Why did you decide
to do what you did earlier tonight?
I was in a rage
at the way David and his friends
were treating me, laughing at me
hanging up when I tried to call,
like I was nothing.
You killed him because
he wouldn't answer the phone?
When did you decide
you were going to do this?
(suspenseful music playing)
Yesterday morning.
I hadn't been able to sleep.
I hadn't been able to find David.
I suddenly had an overwhelming
and peculiar desire to kill him.
You thought he was
with another woman,
and you lost control?
No, I saw things clearly
for the first time.
Has a doctor ever treated you
for mental instability?
I'm not cuckoo,
if that's what you mean.
No, no, no, of course.
But it's important that we explore
every possible line of defence.
You don't understand, Mr Bickford.
I'm not interested in any defence.
(Bickford) You've admitted
to a capital crime.
Without mitigation,
without a defence,
any judge would be forced to
To hang me, yes.
I chose to do what I did.
I don't regret it.
I don't ask you, or anyone else,
to plead for my life.
An eye for an eye.
I took David's life.
I don't ask you to save mine.
(sombre music playing)
(door clangs)
(key turns in lock)
(breathes heavily)
(gasps)
(music fades)
(Ruth) Just over there
by the piano, Sam. Lovely.
What do you think? Too much?
- I think it's perfect.
- Thanks, Jackie.
Almost.
(muffled music)
(upbeat jazz music plays)
(Ruth) Good evening. Welcome.
(customer)
Ruth, you look wonderful!
(Ruth) Thank you.
- Vicki, what do you think?
- (Vicki gasps)
Bloody gorgeous!
- Hello, Cooch. (kisses)
- Hi.
- Wow.
- Champagne?
Oh, please.
A Champagne each
for Vicki and Cooch.
I've seen you before.
You look different.
I was probably rather rude to you.
I probably deserved it.
Can I buy you a drink?
I run this place, Mr Blakely.
Let me get you one.
(David chuckles)
- Well remembered.
- I'm very good at my job.
Mm. A little too much tonic.
Perhaps you should
go back to Carroll's.
Most nights, I'm at
the Steering Wheel Club, actually.
- I'm a
- Racing driver. I know.
I expect you're waiting for me
to ask you about it.
I travel all over Europe.
I meet a lot of famous people.
You think I should go weak
at the knees for your little hobby.
I was once engaged
to a Canadian Air Force pilot.
Now, flying, that's something,
not just racing toy cars.
Oh, believe me, they're not toys.
(tense music playing)
Who's he? Your boyfriend?
- Do you care?
- Not particularly.
I think you do.
I think you came here for me.
I'm not taken by this little
international playboy act.
I think you're a spoiled brat
spending Daddy's money,
and you are too used
to getting your own way.
(upbeat jazz music resumes)
I do always get my own way.
(music concludes)
- This one's on me.
- Thank you.
Ruthie looking after you all right?
Always. (chuckles softly)
You need some extra special
looking after, you let her know.
Oh, that's not, um
Have lunch with me tomorrow.
Gosh, I'm so busy with the place
You could bring Andre and Georgina,
and we could do whatever you want.
Andre has been going on
about the zoo.
The zoo, it is.
Um, I could, er
pick you up at ten?
(gasps)
(both breathing heavily)
(tense music playing)
I haven't been able to get you
out of my mind.
I know.
You've been thinking about me, too.
(breathing heavily) About what
an arrogant bastard you are.
(chuckles softly) It's all an act.
But you know that, don't you?
Because you are, too.
(cat meows)
(music fades)
(Davies) Mr Bickford.
Just in time for Peter's round.
Have you dusted the gun
for fingerprints?
Whose prints
would we be looking for?
Half a dozen witnesses
saw her shoot Blakely.
The question is,
who gave her the gun?
She claims it was security
for a loan, at the Little Club,
that she kept it in a drawer
for three years.
- (Davies) And?
- We both know
that can't possibly be true.
That gun hasn't been sitting
in a drawer.
It's in perfect working condition.
It's oiled.
You're a two-bob brief,
not an arms expert.
I prosecuted war crimes in Austria.
Believe me, I know guns.
Does anything about this crime
make any sense to you at all?
A young woman
with no previous record.
Never even fired a gun.
Twenty years of policing
have taught me
anyone is capable
of almost anything.
Have you conducted
even the most cursory investigation
into where she obtained that gun?
What I am investigating
is the murder
of an innocent young man,
and what interests me
are the four bullets that that gun
and your client put into him. Hey!
You know David went down
after the first shot?
He was on the ground
when she fired the next three.
Point-blank range.
Tell your client
to do the decent thing,
spare his family a trial.
(magistrate) Ruth Ellis,
you have been charged
with the murder of David Blakely.
You will appear in this court
to enter a plea in ten days' time.
Until then,
you will be remanded in custody
at Holloway women's prison.
(sombre music playing)
(Bickford) Where did the gun
come from, Ruth?
I told you. Security for a loan.
If I'm to defend you,
I need you to be honest with me.
Honest, Mr Bickford?
My parents had a visit
from a journalist at The Mirror.
Says his newspaper are paying
my legal fees, your fees.
That's why you turned up
the night I was arrested
because a tabloid
wants an exclusive.
Someone's put you up to this.
Someone gave you the gun,
and you're protecting them.
(guard) This way, miss.
(tense music playing)
(ethereal music playing)
(Ruth) Look how long
your eyelashes are.
(music fades)
(Ruth) Are you wearing mascara?
I once threw a girl
in Frensham Ponds for asking that.
Naughty boy.
You don't know the half of it.
I heard you once drove
a Bentley round the Albert Hall
at 60 miles per hour.
Mm. Didn't get caught, though.
(Ruth chuckles softly)
I'm late. (kisses, groans)
(Ruth) Late for what?
Race meeting in Surrey.
(sombre music playing)
Well, you can show me
what all the fuss is about, then,
with your toy cars.
Hmm? I'll pack a Champagne picnic.
(kisses)
- I tell you, green is your colour.
- (Ruth chuckles)
(intriguing music playing)
Thank you.
Now, mind your fingers.
All right, are you all in?
(Ruth giggles)
Whoo! (giggles)
It's a Twin Cam version
of the 1,500 Singer HRG.
(both chuckle)
Give me that!
Look, we call it the Emperor.
This car is gonna make my name.
- You don't believe me!
- Hmm.
(shrieks, giggles)
The Emperor has arrived!
- (Ant) Ah, David.
- (Carole) David, darling!
How's she running?
(David) Like silk,
old boy, like silk.
It's a beautiful day for it, eh?
(Clive) Good to see you, David. Hi.
This is Clive Gunnell
- and Anthony Findlater.
- Hello.
Ant's been working
on the car with me.
He's the money, and I'm the brains.
- Hello.
- And this is Carole Findlater.
Carole, Ruth Ellis.
Ruth works at the Little Club.
- (Carole) Does she now?
- Manages it, actually.
We brought Champagne!
(Ant) Ah, let's crack it open,
shall we? Good choice.
(Carole) Come along.
So, what did you think
of the Emperor?
- (upbeat music playing)
- Don't tell David,
but I thought it was thrilling!
You're very sweet.
David, stop that!
- (David laughing)
- David, watch out!
Are they always like this?
Ant's never entirely trusted him,
ever since
Since what?
It's no secret.
David and I had a tendresse.
An affair, darling.
All very much in the past.
We laugh about it now.
But Well, I'm afraid
Ant never finds it very funny.
(Ant) Carole, darling, we're off.
Now, I do hope we see you again.
One never knows with David,
but I'm keeping my fingers
firmly crossed for you.
- Coming!
- (Ant) David's being naughty.
(sombre music playing)
I'm so sorry
to put you all through this.
You have to plead insanity.
I was sane when I did it.
I meant to do it. I won't lie.
(music concludes)
What about Andre?
(Ruth) It'll be all right, Mum.
It's all right.
He's going to be taken care of.
It's all arranged.
Arranged with who? Who, Ruthie?
(Bertha) She swears she was sane
when she did it.
And I know my daughter.
Stubborn as a mule
when she wants to be.
- What's gonna happen to her?
- (Bickford) I need something
to to mount some sort
of defence. (sighs)
She won't tell me
where she got the gun,
and her reasons
for wanting Blakely dead
make precious little sense.
You know he knocked her about?
- David was violent towards her?
- She does pick 'em, our Ruth.
She has a history
of violent relationships?
Her ex-husband, George Ellis,
handy with his fists, too.
I don't know what went wrong.
She was such a
happy little girl,
a ray of sunshine.
- (sniffles)
- (sombre music playing)
- Are you all right, love?
- I'll just get you some water.
(sobbing)
(Bickford) Muriel?
Is there anything you can tell me
that might help your sister?
(Arthur) Muriel?
Ruth, she lost a baby recently.
It was David's.
(giggling)
Stop!
Jackie.
(Ruth giggles)
(clattering)
- Jackie, will you help Mr Cussen?
- (David) Come on!
(Jackie) Yes, of course.
(pounding on door)
(Morris) Not good for business,
favouring some punters,
neglecting others.
Go home to your wife, Morris.
Oh, lover boy doesn't know,
does he?
Her rate's ten quid a night.
Worth every penny.
She asked you to leave.
Piss off, Little Lord Fauntleroy!
(David) You know,
I don't think I will.
I think I'll be staying tonight
and tomorrow night.
In fact, I'm moving in,
so there'll be
no more late-night calls
from you
or any other sweaty old bastards,
unless you want my stepfather
to speak to his good friend,
the Commissioner at Scotland Yard,
and tell him
you're running a brothel.
Clean up the bar downstairs.
It's a bloody state!
(drink pours)
Did you mean it?
(mellow music playing)
I want to live with you.
So, how many have you had up here?
- "How many"?
- (David) Men.
(music turns ominous)
It's gonna have to stop,
you know
'cause I'm not gonna be able
to stand it.
(Ruth choking)
I'm awfully afraid
I'm falling in love with you.
(Ruth chokes)
(Bickford) He beat you, didn't he?
(music concludes)
"Body covered in large bruises
with the skin broken in places.
"Temporary deafness in one ear.
Strangulation bruises on neck.
- (sombre music playing)
- (Bickford) "Recent pregnancy loss,
likely due to blows
to the abdomen."
This is what your doctor recorded.
Why didn't you tell the police?
- They never asked.
- (Bickford) You lost a baby
because David beat you.
There are four defences to murder,
self-defence, insanity,
proof you didn't do it.
But we can't use any of those.
The fourth is provocation.
If David did something
so terrible to you
it caused you
to temporarily lose control,
that could be a defence.
(choking)
(gasps)
Get back into bed now!
I didn't lose control.
If you could be honest
about what you've suffered,
if you can gain their sympathy,
then the jury
could recommend mercy.
I won't stand
in a courtroom and beg,
and I didn't kill David
because he beat me.
Why did you kill him?
You wouldn't understand.
You think I'm just
a drab little man
in a suit. (chuckles dryly)
Perhaps I am.
But men like me, we've seen
things you can't imagine.
Inconceivable acts of cruelty,
inconceivable suffering.
And always, the impulse
is never to speak of it again
because to speak of it
makes it real.
I know you're lying
about the murder.
You said it was a black cab
dropped you at the Magdala pub,
but not one cabbie
has come forward.
I've met a lot of London cabbies,
and they remember
who's in the back of their cars,
especially when they're blondes,
all over the papers
accused of murder.
Right. That's all, Mr Bickford.
(Joy) Mr Bickford,
these came for Mrs Ellis.
She's sent these every day.
(music intensifies)
(breathing shakily)
Mrs Ellis has been remanded
in Holloway Prison,
- charged with murder.
- (music concludes)
I have been instructed
to act as her solicitor.
I believe you're a friend of hers,
more than a friend.
Well, I wouldn't say that.
Someone must have helped her.
Someone must have given her a gun.
Was it you?
(ominous music playing)
I have only her interests in mind.
(music intensifies, fades)
It was Desmond Cussen
who gave you the gun,
drove you to the Magdala.
He confessed to me.
He wouldn't say much.
He's lying.
- I have to tell the police.
- No!
I'd be struck off.
I could be prosecuted.
I'll plead not guilty.
That's what you want, isn't it?
I will let you fight my case
in court,
but his name stays out of it.
I'd be committing a crime,
withholding Cussen's confession
from the police.
I could be seen as an accessory
to murder after the fact.
You'd be committing perjury.
These are my terms.
Well, I can't accept them.
Fine. I never wanted a lawyer,
Mr Bickford.
I want to plead guilty.
But you are the one who is
so concerned with saving my life,
though I haven't
quite worked out why.
These terrible things you saw.
I suppose they happened in the war?
Was it you who did them?
So, this is all, what?
Penance?
I'm sorry I wasn't able
to help you, Mrs Ellis.
Mr Bickford, I'll do it.
I'll do the trial your way.
You can use provocation as defence.
You can go for manslaughter.
(Bickford) If we do this
you must do everything I ask,
give evidence in your own defence.
And his name stays out of it.
(phone rings)
Knightsbridge and 044.
Jackie, it's Ruth.
Ruth!
I need to know
he's being taken care of properly.
(Jackie over phone) Who?
David.
(MUSIC: "I Still Believe"
by Ronnie Hilton)
# I still believe
# We were meant for each other
# I still believe
# That you're mine
And no other's #
What's your real voice?
What?
Your accent.
I know it's not this fake
telephone voice you put on.
Where did you grow up?
We moved around.
Manchester, Basingstoke.
- I was born in Rhyl.
- (David) Mm-hm?
I've never met anyone from Rhyl.
Hmm.
Well, we're a very exotic breed.
You're different
to the girls I know.
Carole?
That's all over.
It's you I want
and only you.
# I still believe #
(knock on door)
(song stops)
He won't give you what you deserve,
you know. He'll never marry you.
Oh, for Christ's sake,
who said anything about marriage?
You could have everything you want,
everything the children want.
You could be set for life with me.
(Desmond) How much have you had
to drink? Come on.
Who you are, what you do
it doesn't matter to me,
but it does to him.
You don't know that.
I do.
(sombre music playing)
(Desmond) He's engaged.
- What is this?
- Bugger off home to bed, old chap.
No, you should leave.
You know you're a joke to her.
I flew Lancasters in the war.
I dropped bombs on German children.
And for what?
To defend entitled boys like you,
who take everything that they want,
and they never give a second's
thought to the people they destroy.
Well, sooner or later,
the bill will come in.
(David scoffs)
Well.
Is it true?
It isn't real. It's for my mother.
For your mother?
Should have known
that's what you were doing here,
- hiding from Mummy!
- Stop it.
I was right about you.
Playing with your toy cars.
Playing at being a man.
'Cause you're not, are you?
You're just
a frightened little boy.
The "Emperor"?
It's you that's the joke
(thuds)
(suspenseful music playing)
(sombre music playing)
(Ruth) Dear Mrs Blakely,
no doubt these last few days
have been a shock to you.
The two people I blame
for your son's death, and my own,
are his so-called "friends",
the Findlaters.
You will not understand this yet,
but perhaps before I hang,
you will.
I'm so sorry.
I implore you to forgive David
for living with me,
but we were very much in love
with one another.
Unfortunately,
David was not satisfied
with one woman in his life.
I shall die loving your son.
And you should feel content
that his death has been repaid.
(sobbing)
It's all right. It's all right.
Goodbye. Ruth Ellis.
(Bickford) It was Desmond Cussen
who gave you the gun.
- I have to tell the police.
- No!
(Bickford) I'd be struck off.
I could be prosecuted.
I will let you fight my case
in court,
but his name stays out of it.
These are my terms.
(music fades)
(magistrate) Ruth Ellis,
you are charged
with the murder of David Blakely.
How do you plead?
Not guilty.
(hushed murmuring)
(Bickford)
They've called Desmond Cussen
as a witness for the prosecution.
The prosecution?
What do they know about Desmond?
(Bickford) I don't know,
but when this goes to trial,
Desmond will be speaking
against you.
Everything he's seen you suffer,
we can't use it.
But it's not too late to go to
the police and tell them about it.
There is nothing to tell.
There's something you need
to understand, Ruth.
You represent everything they fear,
and they're going
to try to destroy you.
- "They"?
- (Bickford) The police,
newspapers,
even the courts.
An ambitious woman,
no respect for class boundaries,
no respect for sexual boundaries.
A mother who has, as they see it,
abandoned her children.
You have used everything to try
to advance yourself
at the expense of everything
they value,
and they won't forgive you for it.
You're going to be on trial
for far more than murder
and we will need to use
everything we have.
I won't betray anyone.
Well, then, I hope to God
we can say the same of him.
(tense music playing)
It will all come out at the trial,
what you put her through,
what you made her suffer.
Hey, why put this family
through a pointless trial?
Because I believe
she's not guilty of murder.
You've seen the press here.
You know
this'll be the biggest case
of both our careers.
And I promise you,
I will see her hang.
Why has the Crown called
Desmond Cussen as a witness?
What's he given them?
See you in court.
(muffled clamouring)
(music rises)
(camera shutters click
repeatedly)
(camera shutters click)
(music softens)
(music concludes)