Silva Screen

A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story is a compelling true crime drama about Ruth Ellis, the last woman in Britain to be hanged. This startling story reveals hidden truths about a love triangle that ultimately ended in tragedy.

Set in 1955 in the glamorous and intoxicating world of London club-land, Ruth found acclaim, aged 28, as the capital's youngest club manager. But her success soon unravelled as she became entwined in a passionate but abusive relationship with racing driver David Blakely. Following her murder of David, Ruth exchanged this dazzling, glamorous world for the cells of Holloway jail. On trial at the Old Bailey, Ruth was condemned to die by a system which judged her for far more than her crime. As her execution date approached, there was an intense race to save her life, and the drama reveals that there was more to Ruth’s crime than she declared in court. Ultimately, after a heart-stopping but unsuccessful race to reprieve her, Ruth was hanged. Ruth’s story is a deeply intimate one which touched the world at the time and long after.

Her execution brought about the introduction of Diminished Responsibility as a legal defence and, eventually, the end of capital punishment itself in the UK.

A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, is based on Carol Ann Lee’s acclaimed biography ‘ A Fine Day for Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story ’, and has been adapted by Kelly Jones ( The Long Call, Des, Baptiste ) and produced by critically acclaimed producers, Silverprint Pictures, whose portfolio includes Shetland , Vera and Flesh and Blood.

A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story – Original Soundtrack by Samuel Sim

Samuel Sim’s evocative and deeply emotional score for A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story masterfully captures the tragic essence of one of Britain’s most infamous judicial cases. Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the UK, is brought to life through a haunting and expressive musical narrative that mirrors her descent from hope to despair.

At the heart of the drama is Ellis’s lawyer, John Bickford (portrayed by Toby Jones), who tirelessly tries to convince Ruth that she does not deserve the death penalty. Despite her insistence that she must face her fate, Bickford eventually instils in her a flicker of hope—that the jury might spare her life. However, this fragile optimism is cruelly extinguished as Ruth’s fate is sealed, leading to her tragic end at the gallows.

Sim’s score is built upon a reoccurring rising melody, subtly woven throughout the soundtrack in various guises. This motif serves as a sonic representation of Ruth’s hope—ethereal yet ever-present, even in the darkest of circumstances. As the story unfolds, this melody undergoes a gradual and heart-breaking transformation. Initially delicate and poignant, it begins to unravel as Ruth’s situation becomes more desperate. The once lyrical and structured phrases disintegrate into fractured echoes, mirroring the deterioration of her hope and the inexorable pull of fate.

“I wanted to create the feeling that the chance for Ruth’s escape was there,” Sim explains, “even as it becomes increasingly unattainable and out of reach.”

To further emphasize Ruth’s psychological descent, Sim employs an innovative approach to sound manipulation. Traditional orchestral beauty is gradually subverted by unsettling, distorted textures. “I reprocessed some of the string recordings, sending them through modular synth effects and broken tape machines,” Sim describes, “trying to bend and twist the sound into something increasingly disturbing.” The score embraces this dissonance, leading the listener into Ruth’s crumbling world, where escape becomes a distant impossibility.

The unresolved rising melodic motif lingers throughout, spiralling ever downward, ultimately vanishing into silence—mirroring Ruth’s inevitable end. “This melody never quite resolves,” Sim notes. “It echoes from iteration to iteration, spiralling into a nightmarish version of itself, until finally it is lost and there is only one inevitable path left for Ruth.” The music does not offer resolution, just as Ruth herself never finds it, leaving an emotional imprint of injustice and sorrow.

Featuring the ethereal vocals of Joanna Forbes-L’Estrange and the virtuosic solo cello performances of Caroline Dale, A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story is both a haunting lament and an exquisite exploration of fate, hope, and loss.

The score is performed by The Chamber Orchestra of London, led by Thomas Gould and conducted by Geoff Alexander. Recorded in the legendary ‘Studio Two’ at Abbey Road Studios. Mixed and recorded by Rupert Coulson. Mastered by Caspar Sutton-Jones and Gearbox Productions.

This soundtrack stands as a powerful and unforgettable musical portrait of Ruth Ellis, her fleeting hope, and the tragic inevitability of her fate.

Samuel Sim is a British composer, producer and songwriter. His scores for Film & Television have won numerous awards and accolades including BAFTA and Ivor Novello Award nominations.

Alongside his Film & TV scores, his work also spans concert works, songwriting and production.

Recent works include hit drama series Showtrial for BBC ONE, the Emmy Award Winning Netflix epic The Dark Crystal, and the highly critically acclaimed Anne for ITV1.