How To Watch A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story Online
Premiered: Wednesday, March 5 |
New Episodes: every Wednesday at 9pm GMT |
Channel: ITV1 |
Free Stream: Watch all episodes on ITVX |
International Streams: BritBox (US, CA) |
Watch Anywhere: Stream from anywhere with NordVPN |
Watch A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story – Preview
One of the most well-known British murder cases, A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story details the circumstances that led Ruth Ellis to kill her lover and her subsequent execution in 1955. Featuring Lucy Boynton, Toby Jones, and Juliet Stevenson, this four-part miniseries sympathetically charts Ruth’s tumultuous life while forensically examining the prejudices that helped to cement her tragic fate. Stream every episode with our guide below, which explains how to watch A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story online and free on ITVX from anywhere.
Based on Carol Ann Lee’s 2012 book A Fine Day for a Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story, and brought to the screen by writer Kelly Jones (The Long Call) and director Lee Haven Jones (BBC thriller Wolf, ITV’s The Bay), this true crime drama looks to provide a clear-sighted examination of this notorious figure in British history.
Lucy Boynton plays Ellis (The Ipcress File, Bohemian Rhapsody). Determined to raise herself and her two children out of poverty, Ellis worked as a London hostess before becoming the capital’s youngest club manager at just 28. But her success implodes when she falls in love with David Blakely (Laurie Davidson), an upper middle-class racing car driver with a volatile temper.
After a lifetime of abusive relationships, and some particularly brutal beatings, she fires five bullets into him from a .38 calibre Smith & Wesson revolver outside The Magdala Pub. The murder trial that follows becomes one of the most controversial in British history. And despite the efforts of her solicitor John Bickford (portrayed by the Emmy-nominated Toby Jones, Mr Bates vs The Post Office), who's increasingly cognizant of the violence she’d been subjected to, and a public campaign to have her exonerated, she walks to the scaffold on July 13, 1955 and becomes the last woman to be executed in the UK.
Also starring Mark Stanley as Desmond Cussen, her devoted admirer and part of her toxic love triangle with David, and Nigel Havers, who plays his own grandfather Cecil – the judge who sentenced Ruth to die – A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story provides the titular figure with her long-overdue redemption. Exposing the pretty blatant misogyny and classism of the British establishment, this gripping miniseries reveals that Ruth Ellis was condemned to die, as much because of her working-class roots, gender, and decadent lifestyle as for her crime.
It's a fascinating reappraisal of a highly misunderstood figure. Described by Variety as “devastating” and “stunning” and boasting an incredible 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, catch the four-part series now with the following guide, detailing how to watch A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story online free and from anywhere in the world – with all episodes now available as a boxset.
How to Watch A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story online FREE in the UK
UK viewers can watch A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story from Wednesday, March 5, with episodes airing on ITV1 weekly at 9pm GMT. Alternatively, you can binge the entire series on ITVX now and 100% free, with all episodes made available on the same day as its TV debut.
ITV1 is a free-to-air channel in the UK, though it requires a TV licence to watch live. However, you don't need one to watch catch-up TV, which you can do so via ITVX, ITV's on-demand streaming platform.
Sign up is free for an ITVX account. All you need is an email address and a UK postcode (e.g. W12 7RU).
Abroad? Use a VPN using the instructions below to access ITVX back home
How to watch A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story free from anywhere
If you're a UK citizen on vacation or working overseas, you can still watch A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story online just as you would at home.
While services like ITVX block access from IP addresses outside of the UK, there's a handy piece of software called a VPN that can change your IP address and allow you to watch UK TV online by making it look like you're accessing streaming services from any country in the world.
For example, UK citizens overseas can subscribe to a VPN, join a UK-based server and access the platform from anywhere in the world, just like they would back home.
Step-by-step of using a VPN to unblock:
1. Choose your ideal VPN and install – our go-to recommendation for unblocking is NordVPN, costing from $3.99 a month with its 2-year plan.
2. Connect to a server – for ITVX, for example, you'll want to connect to a server based in the UK.
3. Go to the stream you wish to access - for A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, head to ITVX.
How to watch A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story in the US
In the US, A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story debuted on Monday, February 17. All four episodes of the acclaimed true crime drama are available to stream with a BritBox subscription right now.
Signing up to BritBox is simple. Purchase a monthly plan for $8.99 per month, though new users are entitled to its 7-day free trial offer first. And, if you’d like to make some savings, the service’s annual plan is charged at $89.99 a year – that’s 12 months of membership for the price of only 10 months.
A UK citizen abroad? You can always port yourself back home and watch the show free as usual on ITVX as usual by using a VPN.
How to watch A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story in Canada
The new ITV drama has already premiered in Canada, too. A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story was made available to stream on BritBox as of February 17, where you can currently enjoy the entire series.
Those in The Great North can bag a 7-day free trial if they're new to the service, after which time you can opt for either a monthly sub at CA$10.99, or make a saving and pay $109.99 for the annual plan.
Currently out of the country? Simply download a VPN to connect to ITVX or your regional streaming service, regardless of where you’re located.
Can I watch A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story in Australia?
It's almost certain that Aussies will be able to watch A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story via BritBox. However, as of yet there's been no official release date penciled in. With the show now available in the UK and North America, it shouldn't be long before it's added to the beloved streaming platform for those Down Under.
Looking to sign up? A monthly membership for AU$9.99, or save a few dollars when you chose its AU$99.99 annual sub. Even better? If you’ve never used the service before, you’re gifted a brilliant 7-day free trial before paying a thing.
NB: If you’re traveling and want to connect to your preferred streaming service, purchase a VPN. That way you can watch A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story online from wherever you happen to be.
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story Trailer
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story Episode Release Schedule
All episodes are now available on BritBox in the US and Canada as of February 16. In the UK, all four episodes were made available as a boxset on ITVX on March 5, with episodes going out on linear TV with the following episode schedule.
- A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story: Episode 1 – Wednesday, March 5
- A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story: Episode 2 – Wednesday, March 12
- A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story: Episode 3 – Wednesday, March 19
- A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story: Episode 4 – Wednesday, March 26
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story Cast
- Lucy Boynton as Ruth Ellis
- Toby Jones as John Bickford
- Laurie Davidson as David Blakely
- Mark Stanley as Desmond Cussen
- Joe Armstrong as DCI Davies
- Arthur Darvill as Victor Mishcon
- Juliet Stevenson as Dr Charity Taylor
- Toby Stephens as Melford Stevenson
- Amanda Drew as Bertha (Ellis’s mother)
- Nigel Havers as Mr Justice Havers
- Bessie Carter as Carole Findlater
- Audrey Brisson as Jacqeline Dyer
How Many Episodes of A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story Will There Be?
ITV's intoxicating historical drama miniseries consists of four episodes in total. They'll air weekly on ITV every Wednesday from March 5, with each episode running for about 50 minutes long.
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