The actress has portrayed the Teessider in the gripping ITV drama I Fought The Law.
Actress Sheridan Smith has spoken of her connection to Teessider Ann Ming and revealed she has even got a new tattoo to mark their bond. The actress has been starring in the real life drama production, I Fought The Law, bringing Ann’s campaign for justice to the screen.
Ann embarked on a 17 year journey for justice following the murder of her daughter, Julie Hogg, in 1989 at the age of just 22. The battle led her all the way to the House of Lords, resulting in a significant change to the double jeopardy law that had remained unchallenged for 800 years.
Sheridan has been on the screens in the hugely anticipated drama, portraying Ann through her harrowing and remarkable journey. Now she says she and Ann have developed a firm bond.
On a social media post the BAFTA winner said: “Ann is coming to stay with me this week, I am connected for life to her. She has taught me how a mother’s love is stronger than anything in this world. I even have a new lioness and cub tattoo for Ann and Julie and for me and my little boy.
“Grateful to have met her and told her story and to be part of each other’s lives.”
The ITV four-part drama, I Fought The Law, was filmed across the North East last year and begins by exploring Julie’s home life with her son Kevin and her close bond with Ann. The narrative takes a dark turn when Julie disappears after a late-night shift at a local takeaway.
Police suggested to Ann that Julie might have chosen to leave the area voluntarily, but she was adamant that her daughter wouldn’t abandon her son Kevin. She then observed as a missing person investigation was initiated and forensics scoured Julie’s Billingham home.
Tragically, after spending Christmas Day hoping for a call from Julie, it was Ann who discovered her daughter’s lifeless body, wrapped in a blanket beneath Julie’s bath.
Julie was murdered by William ‘Billy’ Dunlop, who concealed her body behind a bath panel and attempted to hide Julie’s house keys under floorboards at his lodging place. He was arrested and charged with Julie’s murder in 1990.
However, juries twice failed to reach a verdict, and in 1991, he was released, only to find himself incarcerated in 1997, serving a seven-year sentence for assaulting his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her partner.
