Sheridan Smith reveals emotional way she has marked 'connection' with Ann Ming

Sheridan Smith has admitted that she and Ann Ming are 'connected for life' now after she played her in the I Fought The Law. The four-part series follows the remarkable true story of the story of Ann, a mother-of-three from Billingham, County Durham, who battled for 15 years to see her daughter Julie's killer brought to justice after he was initially acquitted, and just ahead of the final episode airing, Sheridan took to social media to share the new bond she has forged.

Over a snap of the two of them, Sheridan said: "Ann is coming to stay with me this week. I am connected for life to her! " The TV star, who is mother to five-year-old Billy with her ex-fiancé Jamie Horn, then made the emotional admission about what she has learned from Ann and revealed that she has had a tattoo done to mark her newly forged bond.

She added: "She has taught me how a mother's love is stronger than anything in this world! I even have a new lioness tattoo for Julie and for me and my little boy! Grateful to have met her and told her story And to be part of each others lives. Episodes 3+4 tonight and tomorrow 9pm on @itv x."

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In another post, Sheridan thanked fans for their support over her latest TV role. She wrote: "absolutely overwhelmed by all your kind messages about I Fought The Law. Thank you, it means more than you could ever know.

"Episode 3 is on tonight @itv and the last episode tomorrow night. So grateful to have been part of the huge team that made it possible to tell Ann's incredible story. So glad it's out there now for others to see her unbelievable battle."

Julie Hogg, aged 22, was a mother to three-year-old son Kevin and wife to husband Andrew. She vanished after working a late shift at a local pizza parlour.

Heartbreakingly, Ann herself found Julie's body hidden in the bathroom of her home in January 1990. 80 days earlier, the murderer had concealed Julie's body behind the bath panel. Despite extensive searches by police forensics teams after Julie's disappearance, they failed to locate Julie's body.

Sheridan is no stranger to British screens, having started her career as Janet Smith on the BBC Three sitcom Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, which she appeared on alongside the likes of Ralf Little, Natalie Casey and Beverley Callard.

During the show's lengthy run throughout the 2000s, she also appeared on Fat Friends opposite Emmerdale star Lisa Riley as well as in sunny sitcom Benidorm and BBC favourite Gavin & Stacey. She then turned to musical theatre, winning an Olivier Award for her portrayal of Elle Woods, the character made famous by Reese Witherspoon, in the West End production of Legally Blonde.

Further stage credits in Funny Girl and, more recently, Shirley Valentine and Opening Night followed. But it's with gritty dramas that Sheridan has really made her mark as an actress. In 2014, she starred as Cilla Black in Cilla, played a cleaner with a gambling addiction in Cleaning Up and also starred in a number of true crime series, notably as the mother of a young gay man murdered by Grindr killer Stephen Port in Four Lives, and as Karen Matthews' friend Julie Bushby in the BBC drama The Moorside.

Ann, who also served as a consultant on I Fought the Law, expressed her support for the ITV series and shared her delight that actress Sheridan would be portraying her, stating she was "overwhelmed".

She said: "I am very pleased that Hera Pictures will tell the story of my campaign to overturn the Double Jeopardy Law. My daughter's killer was wrongfully acquitted, and a number of years later confessed to her murder, for which he could only be prosecuted for perjury due to the 800-year-old Double Jeopardy Law. I wasn't going to let this stand in my way of getting justice for Julie.

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