Brandishing a .38 calibre Smith & Wesson revolver, actress Lucy Boynton recreates one of the most iconic crime scenes in British history when she stars as the last woman to be sent to the gallows.
In exclusive images from forthcoming ITV drama Ruth, the Bohemian Rhapsody star is captured playing former nude model and escort Ruth Ellis as she kills her lover, racing driver David Blakely, played by actor Laurie Davidson.
Producers of the drama decided to return to the exact spot where Ellis killed her boyfriend on April 10, 1955, to film the scene.
These photographs of Boynton and Davidson were taken outside the Magdala pub in North London – where Ellis fired five shots at Blakely, with one bullet ricocheting off the pavement and injuring a passer-by.
With her bleached hair and pillar-box red lipstick, the actress is seen striding towards Blakeley before firing the gun at close range.
Actress Lucy Boynton (pictured) was seen recreating one of the most iconic crime scenes in British history
The Bohemian Rhapsody star is captured playing former nude model and escort Ruth Ellis
The scene sees Boyton’s character killing racing driver David Blakely, played by actor Laurie Davidson (pictured, centre)
Ruth Ellis (pictured, right) was convicted of murder at the Old Bailey and hanged at Holloway Prison in July 1955
Visitors to the Magdala today can see what appear to be bullet holes in the pub’s wall – though locals say they were actually made as a stunt in the 1990s by revellers using a drill after a drunken lock-in.
As The Mail on Sunday revealed last month, Boynton, who appeared as Freddie Mercury’s former fiancee in Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, will portray Ellis as a victim of physical abuse in the four-part television drama.
Call The Midwife and Baptiste scriptwriter Kelly Jones, who penned the script for Ruth, is believed to have focused on Ellis and Blakely’s tempestuous relationship – Ellis had a miscarriage after her lover, who was engaged to another woman, punched her in the stomach during a row.
Ellis is said to have remarked, ‘Will you call the police, Clive?’ to a friend of Blakely after she fired the shots that killed her lover, and then told the policeman who arrested her: ‘I am guilty, I’m a little confused.’
She was convicted of murder at the Old Bailey and hanged at Holloway Prison in July 1955.
Her execution is believed to have led to the abolition of capital punishment in the UK.
‘Ruth Ellis’s story is a fascinating one,’ Boynton said after landing the role. ‘I’m looking forward to bringing a new perspective to both familiar audiences as well as those who are unaware of her mark on British history.’