Sheridan Smith in role as double jeopardy campaigner on I Fought The Law set

British actress Sheridan Smith has been pictured embodying real-life double jeopardy campaigner Ann Ming on the set of ITV’s I Fought The Law.

The forthcoming four-part series tells the story of Ms Ming’s determination to change the law and bring her daughter’s murderer to justice.

In photos from the set in Shiremoor, North Tyneside, the TV and stage star, 43, is seen with short blonde hair wearing a quilted dark magenta jacket standing outside a row of houses.

Ms Ming, who campaigned for years to get the 800-year-old law changed, is acting as a consultant throughout the production process.

Her daughter, 22-year-old Julie Hogg, died in Billingham, County Durham, in 1989 after William Dunlop strangled her and hid her mutilated body behind a bath panel where it lay undiscovered for months.

Dunlop was tried twice for Miss Hogg’s murder but both juries failed to reach a verdict.

When later serving time behind bars for another crime, Dunlop confessed and admitted lying in court, boasting there was nothing anyone could do about it because of the double jeopardy rule in place at the time.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which widely came into effect in 2005, “reforms the law relating to double jeopardy, by permitting retrials in respect of a number of very serious offences, where new and compelling evidence has come to light”.

Previously, the law did not permit a person who has been acquitted or convicted of an offence to be retried for that same offence.

In 2006 Dunlop was convicted of murder, under the new rules, and jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years.

Ms Ming was made an MBE in 2007 in recognition of her services to the criminal justice system.

Smith, who is known for starring in TV shows including Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps, Gavin And Stacey and Cilla, previously told ITV she was “honoured” to play Ms Ming.

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.”

I Fought The Law, written by Jamie Crichton, is based on Ms Ming’s book For The Love Of Julie and will air on ITV1 and ITVX.

Published: 16/08/2024 by Radio NewsHub