The brother of a man killed by Sarah Ferguson's former aide has voiced deep concerns about an upcoming ITV drama depicting the murder, describing his participation as obligatory rather than voluntary.
Rick Cressman, a hotelier, expressed alarm that the four-part series The Lady would blend fact with fiction when portraying his brother Thomas's death.
"[The series] is open to lots of bits of interpretation and it is fictitious," he said.
"So, if there's bits that are made up, like in The Crown, they had ghosts of Princess Diana appearing in the programme, I find it quite scary."
The new ITV drama The Lady has sparked concerns from Rick Cressman
|ITV
He pushed back against suggestions the family had given their blessing to the production.
"I would call it cooperation of duty, [and] anyone who ever suggests it's in some way done helpfully or willingly is just not thinking straight," he explained.
Jane Andrews served as a royal dresser for Ms Ferguson across nearly a decade before leaving the position in 1997.
Three years later, while employed at a jewellery shop, she killed Thomas Cressman using a cricket bat and knife at their west London home.
The former aide, who hailed from Grimsby, received a life sentence for the murder.
She gained release on licence in 2015, though authorities revoked this in 2018 amid harassment allegations.
Andrews was freed again in 2019 after police found insufficient evidence to support those claims.
Left Bank, the production company responsible for Netflix's The Crown, is behind the new series.
Mia McKenna-Bruce, who plays Andrews, had suggested the victim's relatives were "involved" in the production — a characterisation Mr Cressman disputed.
Sarah Ferguson's former aide, Jane Andrews received a life sentence for the murder
|ITV
"I think Mia was a little off-track talking of involvement," Mr Cressman said.
"We've been there and assisted in trying to make sure that it is actually something that comes over in the right way, because we just don't know at this stage."
The drama marks the tenth television production Mr Cressman has endured about his brother's killing over the past quarter century.
"For myself and my sister and all the rest of our family, it's part of our lives. It's not just a story," he said.
"And I think of my brother on much higher levels than being just a story."
His sister Cathy died last week, adding fresh grief to the family's ordeal.
Jim Dickie, the detective who investigated Thomas's murder, shares similar apprehensions about the dramatisation, according to Mr Cressman.
Natalie Dormer, who portrays Ms Ferguson in the series, has withdrawn from promotional activities following revelations about the former Duchess's connection to Jeffrey Epstein.
"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," the Game of Thrones actress stated last September.
The four-part series is set to air this year
|ITV
Ms Dormer has donated her entire fee from the production to the National Association for People Abused in Childhood and the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse.
Basia Briggs, a socialite who was previously friends with Andrews, has also voiced distress about the series.
"It's a huge impertinence to depict people who are still living," she said. "I'm terrified of them getting things wrong."