ITV Vera producers set to launch dark real life drama A Cruel Love with all star cast

With just weeks to go until cameras start roiling on the new series of Vera, the production team behind the smash hit show are getting ready to launch dark real life drama A Cruel Love, all about Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the UK.

For the last 13 years, Vera has been gripping millions of viewers with each new series on ITV, as Brenda Bletyhn and her co-stars have attempted to unravel all manner of murder mysteries. Fans got their last fix of new Vera back in January when the show returned for three new feature length episodes, which saw Brenda reunited with her original on screen sidekick David Leon, after the departure of his replacement Kenny Doughty.

Brenda, David and the rest of the Vera cast are set to return to their roles for series 14, with filming due to get going by the end of April, ahead of the two new episodes being on screen in early 2025. And Silverprint Pictures, who are also the company behind Shetland, the BBC drama based on more books by Vera author Ann Cleeves, have also been busy working on A Cruel Love, which is set to air on ITV later this year.

READ MORE: Channel 5 Motorway Cops 'mystery' as Northumbria Police episode fails to air

Get all the latest TV and showbiz news and gossip from Chronicle Live with our free newsletter..

The four part drama will be focused on Ruth, played by Bohemian Rhapsody and The Ipcress Style, London night club manager Lucy Boynton, who was sentenced to hanging in 1955, after murdering abusive boyfriend, racing driver David Blakeley. Lucy isn't the only familiar face in the Cruel Love cast either, as she is joined by Toby Jones, most recently seen in ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office and The Long Shadow, Juliet Stevenson and Joe Armstrong, who starred alongside Michelle Keegan in Netflix smash Fool Me Once.