The Lady true story: How Sarah Ferguson's dresser Jane Andrews became a killer

ITV is revisiting a shocking true crime case that caused a media frenzy at the turn of the millennium, when a former employee of Sarah Ferguson was convicted of murder.

The Lady tells the life story of Jane Andrews (played by Mia McKenna-Bruce), who went from a relatively poor home in Grimsby to the opulence of Buckingham Palace after becoming a dresser to the then-Duchess of York (Natalie Dormer).

Their friendship weathered Ferguson's divorce from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, but fizzled out not long after, leaving Andrews bereft at losing access to the royal world.

Just a few short years later, Ferguson would be contacted by police about the whereabouts of her earlier confidante, whose boyfriend had been found dead in his west London home.

This is the true story that inspired ITV drama The Lady.

The Lady true story: How Sarah Ferguson's dresser Jane Andrews became a killer

ITV drama The Lady tells the life story of Jane Andrews, who rose from humble origins to the privileged position of Sarah Ferguson's dresser. But years later, events took a dark turn.

Andrews was born in April 1967 to a working-class family, who spent her early years in Cleethorpes before moving to Grimsby due to financial difficulties.

Although she performed well at school initially, her academic life took a dip in her teenage years as severe mental health issues arose, causing her to attempt to take her own life at the age of just 15.

Andrews recovered from the incident and later found her passion studying fashion at Grimsby College, which led to a job as a sales assistant in a local Marks & Spencer store.

By the age of 21, she was itching for a new opportunity, which came from an anonymous job advert in The Lady – a historic women's magazine which ceased publication last year – seeking a dresser for an unnamed individual.

That person later turned out to be none other than Sarah Ferguson, then-Duchess of York. Andrews secured the job in the summer of 1988, transforming her life overnight.

At the time of the hiring, Ferguson was still married to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (known as Prince Andrew at that point in time), but the breakdown of that relationship soon followed.

For Andrews, her job only became more important in that tumultuous period as she proved to be a valuable emotional support for Ferguson, who kept her close even when other staff had to be let go.

In her own life, Andrews had also been through a divorce to a man named Christopher Dunn-Butler (portrayed by Adolescence star Mark Stanley in The Lady), whom she was married to for approximately five years.

A subsequent relationship with affluent Greek businessman Dimitri Horne ended badly, with Andrews admitting to entering his home and damaging his property.

"I was so angry, I took our photographs down," she told The Guardian. "On the mantelpiece in the living room was a cup and saucer that I knew was very special to him and I smashed it.

"I went through his journal with a black marker pen and blanked out all the references to myself. I picked up his telephone and smashed that as well. I'm ashamed of what I did. I've never done that to anyone else's possessions."

A character similar to Horne is played by Sean Teale (The Gold) in The Lady.

Eventually, the axe came for Andrews, who was made redundant in November 1997 in what has been described simply as a "cost-cutting exercise," but it took her completely by surprise. She felt betrayed and became deeply depressed.

Later, she found a new job at a Knightsbridge jewellers and met another businessman, Thomas Cressman (portrayed by Ed Speleers), with whom she began a relationship.

This was a romance that ended in horror as, around two years after they met, Andrews violently murdered Cressman in his sleep using a cricket bat and a knife.

Earlier that evening, he had called the police requesting officers to visit their address, due to a volatile argument between himself and Andrews that he feared would result in one of them getting hurt. They never came.

While it is accepted that Andrews killed Cressman, the motives behind the crime are the subject of debate.

The prosecution argued that Andrews's anger over her boyfriend's refusal to propose fuelled the shocking attack, with friends and relatives of Thomas claiming that she had exhibited possessive behaviour.

In her defence, Andrews accused Cressman of being abusive, claiming that a broken wrist she had suffered while dancing with him had been inflicted deliberately.

She also alleged that he would hit her with a wooden brush and abuse her sexually (via The Guardian).

The withholding of a proposal was, by her account, one of the "mind games" that he would play with her.

"I stayed with Tom for a thousand and one reasons, because every time he was violent or abusive, apologies came and he said he would change," she told the newspaper in an extensive interview, which took place after her conviction.

Cressman's family strongly pushed back against the narrative that he mistreated Andrews, pointing to favourable testimonies from ex-girlfriends and a lack of forensic or anecdotal evidence to support the claims.

After the trial had ended, Thomas' father Harry claimed that Andrews had "tried to destroy his reputation," while an earlier ex named Christina Spanier said "it was like she was killing him all over again" (via BBC News).

"He was never violent and never made any horrible demands," added Spanier. "It is so unfair that he is dead and isn't here to defend himself."

Due to the historic nature of the allegations, it is impossible to know with absolute certainty what happened behind closed doors, but Thomas's brother, Rick Cressman, remains firm in his own beliefs two decades later.

Appearing on This Morning in 2021, he reiterated his view that Thomas's "character was besmirched in every which way as an excuse to try to justify murder".

Immediately after the murder, Andrews fled the scene and went missing for several days, during which time Ferguson and other contacts were approached by police for assistance in locating her.

Eventually, she was found in a car in Cornwall, having taken an overdose, which she recovered from.

Andrews's trial at the Old Bailey was widely covered by the mainstream media, due largely to her connection to the Royal Family, which Rick cites as the principle reason why the case has never fully been put to rest.

Andrews has been out of prison since 2019.

The Lady premieres on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday 22 February 2026.

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