ITV drama to focus on Teesside mum's fight with the law after Julie Hogg murder
The story of Ann Ming and Julie Hogg is coming to life this weekend
Last updated 29th Aug 2025
The mum of a murdered Teesside woman has been telling us how seeing her story come to life on screen is something she never could have imagined.
Ann Ming fought the courts for years to get justice for her daughter, Julie Hogg, who was killed in Billingham in 1989.
Her murderer was only jailed after the 800 year old double jeopardy law was overturned because of Ann's work.
A four-part ITV series about that story called 'I Fought The Law' starts on Sunday (31st August) with Ann being portrayed by actress Sheridan Smith.
Ann said: "I've watched everything Sheridan's done and I thought 'well they couldn't have asked a better person.' I couldn't have imagined that she's like got inside me.
"This way people will see that it was my campaign and with the support from my grandson and my husband, there were times where I really thought 'can I carry on?' Because it was very stressful and I'm glad I did.
"I mean, if you had somebody killed your relative, and then they were boasting in public houses how he'd killed your family member, and you knew nothing could be done about it because of an 800 year old law - I'm sure you, and along with lots of other people, would have thought 'That's not right, I'll set about doing something about that'.
"For me it was strange when I watched it. I cried all the way through it because it's like I'm reliving it and she's portraying me reliving it. It was surreal in a way.
"It was like looking in a mirror and watching myself, her mannerisms and everything. I think she's a brilliant actress. I said to her 'you've got the capability to get inside the person and become that person.'"