Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain on July 13, 1955, left behind two children when she was executed at the age of 28.
New ITV series A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, which premiered on Wednesday, March 5th, 2025, dramatises the tragic tale. Here’s everything we know about Ruth’s kids.
Nightclub manager Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in Britain[/caption]
What happened to Ruth Ellis’ children?
Georgina Ellis
Ruth Ellis‘ daughter Georgina was just three years old when her mother’s death penalty via hanging was was carried out.
She was fostered at the age of six after her father George Ellis died by suicide in 1958.
As an adult, Georgina struggled with alcoholism and faced difficulties raising her own six children.
She was married twice and had several high-profile relationships, including affairs with celebrities including George Best and Richard Harris.
However, the death of her mother caused a tragic chain of events within the family.
Georgina’s daughter Laura Enston told the Telegraph: “My grandfather, Ruth’s first husband, George Ellis, a dentist with an alcohol problem, hanged himself three years after Ruth’s execution.
“In 1969, Ruth’s mother, Bertha Neilson, was found unconscious in a gas-filled room; she never fully recovered.
“My mother, Georgina Ellis, Ruth’s daughter, was three years old and living with an adoptive family when her mother was hanged.
“She led a chaotic life thanks to her childhood; she could not be the mother that my siblings and I needed, drank heavily later in life and died of cancer aged 50.“
Georgina published a book titled Ruth Ellis, My Mother (1995), which included her memories of Ruth and how her own life was shaped by her mother’s legacy.
She sadly passed away in 2001.
Andy Ellis
Ruth’s son Clare Andrea Neilson, known as Andy, was born on September 15, 1944.
His father, Clare Andrea McCallum, was a married Canadian soldier.
As a youngster, Andy lived with his grandmother while Ruth worked various jobs to support him.
He was 10 years old when his mother was executed.
In 1982, at the age of 37, Andy took his own life in a bedsit.
Before his death, he desecrated his mother’s grave, destroying the headstone on her burial plot in St Mary the Virgin Churchyard in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
Laura said: “Andy, my uncle, who was 10 when Ruth was hanged, died by suicide, aged 37.“
Lucy Boynton as Ruth Ellis and Laurie Davidson as David Blakely in A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story[/caption]
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story
ITV‘s new four-part series A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story explores the life of Ruth Ellis.
Starring Lucy Boynton as Ruth and Laurie Davidson as David Blakely.
The series delves into their tumultuous relationship, culminating in Ellis’ conviction for Blakely’s murder.
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story premiered at 9 pm on ITV1 on Wednesday, March 5th, 2025.
You’re Not Alone
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together,www.headstogether.org.uk
- HUMEN www.wearehumen.org
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans,www.samaritans.org, 116 123
