Handcuffed and doomed: Lucy Boynton as Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the UK
WITH her bleached, coiffured hair, bright red lipstick and immaculate wool suit, this is rising star Lucy Boynton in her most dramatic role to date – as the last woman in Britain to be sent to the gallows.
Our exclusive pictures show for the first time the Sing Street star as Ruth Ellis, who was executed aged 28 in 1955 for killing her lover, racing driver David Blakely.
Ms Boynton is seen in scenes filmed last week recreating the moment
Ellis, flanked by two policemen, was brought before magistrates after being charged with the murder.
Days earlier, on April 10, 1955, she had shot Blakely repeatedly outside a London pub, with one bullet ricocheting off the pavement and injuring a passer-by. She was arrested at the scene by an off-duty policeman.
Ms Boynton, 29, who appeared as Freddie Mercury’s former fiancée in Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, is seen dressed as the killer as she descends the Old Bailey court steps and is led into a waiting police van.
She also appears to have captured perfectly the calm composure that
Ellis became known for during her trial. The former escort had been introduced to Blakely by Formula 1 ace Mike Hawthorn. The relationship was violent – she had one abortion and lost another baby to a miscarriage after Blakely, who was engaged to another woman, punched her in the stomach during a row.
‘Ruth Ellis’s story is a fascinating one. Both she and this complex case have always evoked a strong reaction,’ Ms Boynton said. After declaring in her trial, ‘It’s obvious when I shot him I intended to kill him’, Ellis was found guilty by a jury after just 20 minutes and sentenced to death. Despite a petition calling for clemency signed by 50,000, she was hanged on July 13, 1955.
The controversy over her execution strengthened the campaign to abolishing capital punishment in the UK.