The Lady stars Mia McKenna-Bruce as Jane Andrews, Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson's former royal dresser who murders her boyfriend. Photo / Binge
Part and parcel of any film or television press tour are red carpet appearances and promotional interviews, but one star has shocked many by refusing to promote her latest project.
Late last year, Natalie Dormer made a stance not to support her new drama The Lady, a miniseries based on true events from the 90s and 2000s in which she portrays Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson, aka the then-Duchess of York.
The promotional blanket ban was implemented by Dormer after it came to light Ferguson received financial support from disgraced businessman Jeffrey Epstein.
The convicted sex offender was already linked to Ferguson’s ex-husband, the then-Prince Andrew, but Dormer said Ferguson also having ties with Epstein was “inexcusable” and therefore she refused to be linked to the former royal in any way, shape or form. And that includes distancing herself from The Lady.
“When I agreed to take the role in The Lady, I knew portraying the script’s Sarah Ferguson would require nuance,” Dormer told Variety in September before the show’s premiere last month on Binge. “People are layered, their journeys are full of highs and lows, and as an actor, my job is to lean into those elements and bring them to life with honesty and empathy.
“Since completing the project, new information has come to light that makes it impossible for me to reconcile my values with Sarah Ferguson’s behaviour, which I believe is inexcusable. For that reason, I will not be taking part in the promotion of the project.”
The British actor was referring to extensive email exchanges between Ferguson and Epstein in which the former royal requested financial assistance from him all while showering him with praise.
Although The Lady had nothing to do with the Epstein case per se, Dormer immediately wiped her hands of the project. She even donated her full salary from the film to child protection charities.
However, the Game of Thrones star’s non-involvement did not stop viewers from tuning in.
The Lady became a hit when it premiered in Britain and Australia on February 23, and it currently sits among the top five shows streaming locally on Binge, with its leading lady Mia McKenna-Bruce, who portrays Andrews, getting a heap of love on social media.
“Loved it. Superb acting by all. I found Mia McKenna-Bruce utterly believable,” one tweeted on X. “#thelady is such a wild story, i cant believe it’s based on true events!”
“Just watched the final episode of THIS. Brilliant written by Debbie O’Malley and an incredible, gripping and award-worthy performance from @MiaMckennaBruce,” another commented.
The four-part drama based on true events follows Ferguson’s former royal dresser Andrews, who after nine years was let go from her job at Buckingham Palace before going on to bludgeon and stab to death her wealthy live-in boyfriend, Thomas Cressman (Ed Speleers).
The rags-to-riches tale told the story of Jane, a 21-year-old young woman who had big dreams despite growing up in the small British seaside town of Grimsby.
Soon after landing her dream job at the palace, Andrews became a close confidante of Ferguson’s before becoming obsessed with the royal, dressing like her, copying her accent and dying her hair fiery red like the duchess.
When Andrews got fired from the role in 1997 after the palace underwent budget cuts, the redundancy almost broke her and she then placed all her focus on her growing romance with former stockbroker Cressman.
But when that relationship imploded in 2020 when he refused to marry her, Andrews murdered the 39-year-old as he slept inside their Fulham flat in London.
Andrews went on the run for four days. She eventually turned herself into police and was later convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, with an 11-year minimum term imposed. The former royal staffer served 15 years before being released in 2019.
While Dormer did not do any press for the film, McKenna-Bruce was more than happy to chat about her experience portraying a real-life woman.
“There definitely is a whole other level of responsibility. But Debbie [O’Malley], our amazing writer, she’s so incredible that for me, I just [used] the scripts as my Bible,” she told Town and Country magazine in January.
“I didn’t watch any of the documentaries or the real life stuff on it, because I wanted to approach it as a character and not get wrapped up in the real life bit of it … I know that I’m working with people that genuinely care about the real story, but for me, in order to give a totally unjudgmental, unbiased performance, I just go off what I’m given script-wise and treat it as a character.”
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