Your I Fought the Law FAQ: Where is Billy Dunlop now and 5 more questions about the ITV drama answered

If you’ve watched Sheridan Smith’s latest drama, I Fought the Law, it may well have been an emotional week for you. The four-part ITV drama tells the true story of Ann Ming, the mother who campaigned to change the Double Jeopardy Law and ensure that her daughter’s murderer was convicted. It’s the sort of spectacular series that makes your heart ache – and also leaves you desperately searching the internet for more details about the real-life story. And that’s where we come in.

From who the real Ann Ming is to where her daughter Julie’s murderer is now, we’ve been busy finding out the answers to all the burning questions you’re likely to have at the end of the show. It also helps that GH met both Sheridan and Ann themselves – so you can bet we’ve got our facts right. So, whether you’ve just finished bingeing the drama or are yet to start, here’s your official I Fought the Law FAQ…

What is ITV's I Fought the Law about?

As we mentioned, the four-part series portrays the real-life story of grieving mother, Ann Ming (played by Sheridan Smith), and her fight to change the Double Jeopardy Law and see her daughter, Julie’s murderer brought to justice. Based on Ann Ming’s 2008 book, For the Love of Julie, the drama recounts the mother-of-three’s 15-year battle to ensure her daughter’s murderer finally faced justice, having been acquitted following two mistrials.

The series covers how Ann and her family dealt with Julie’s disappearance in Billingham, Cleveland, in November 1989 following her late shift at a local pizza parlour, as well as their tireless campaigning in Julie’s name to change the Double Jeopardy law, which had previously stopped Julie’s murderer from facing justice.

Who is the real Ann Ming and what is she doing now?

A mother-of-three from Billingham, County Durham, Ann Ming is a former nurse who was married to Charlie Ming. When her daughter, Julie, was murdered in 1989, Ann battled for 15 years to overturn the double jeopardy law, so that her Julie’s murderer, William 'Billy' Dunlop, could finally face justice, having been acquitted following two mistrials. Thanks to Ann's courageous fight, in 2005, Dunlop was finally retried for Julie’s murder and sentenced to life imprisonment the following year.

In an exclusive interview, Ann told GH how, much to most people’s surprise, she didn’t have a big team behind her working to change the law. “When people find out I spent decades overturning the double jeopardy law, they assume I had a team of lawyers backing me up,” she explained. “Not at all! I kept pushing to change the law, despite having chronic PTSD, simply because I wanted justice for Julie. I couldn’t believe that my daughter’s killer [William Dunlop] had the arrogance to boast about getting away with the perfect murder when he appeared in court for assaulting a man and woman on separate occasions.”

Was Ann involved in the making of ITV's I Fought the Law?

Yes, very much so. Ann told GH that, at first, she hesitated when ITV asked to turn her book, For The Love Of Julie (which tells her real-life story), into a TV drama. "I didn’t know if people would want to watch a series about a mother whose daughter had been murdered," she said.

However, when they told her they’d asked Sheridan Smith to play her, she was delighted. "I’ve watched everything she’s ever been in. I thought, ‘If anyone can impersonate me, it’s Sheridan," she added, explaining that she and her grandson Kevin met Sheridan in London last July, before filming started, because Sheridan "wanted to get my mannerisms and accent right."

Ann also met the writer, Jamie Crichton, and he sent her the script. "He let me and Kevin make some factual changes and I was happy with it," she shared. "I went on set a few times, including to watch the scene in which Sheridan, as me, tells the actor who plays young Kevin the truth about his mother’s death."

Did Ann Ming actually get the double jeopardy law changed?

Yes - it wasn't easy, but Ann still remembers how she felt when Billy Dunlop was finally convicted in 2006. "I can’t tell you what it felt like to hear the word ‘guilty’ read out in court, even if it was 17 years after he’d killed my daughter," she told GH. "After all those times in court when I was asked horrible questions – like whether I used my left or right hand to remove the bath panel that revealed my daughter’s dead body, giving me flashbacks to the day I found her – I’ll never forget the day Dunlop was sent down for murder – and our life sentence finally became his."

Where is Willian 'Billy' Dunlop now?

In 2006, William ‘Billy’ Dunlop was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 17 years, having been found guilty of strangling Julie Hogg and hiding her body beneath a bath at her home in Billingham, County Durham, in 1989. He has remained in prison ever since.

Ann told GH of the series of events: “Dunlop was called to the Old Bailey in October 2006. Charlie, Kevin and I sat in court number one, where Dr Crippen was tried. Dunlop’s barrister said his client had been treated very unfairly – he’d never have confessed had he known the double jeopardy law would change. Dunlop wasn’t going to get away with Julie’s murder this time. His acquittal was finally quashed. He currently remains in prison for his crimes."

What happened to Ann Ming's husband, Charlie Ming?

If you’ve watched I Fought the Law, you’ll have seen how Charlie (played by Daniel York Loh in the series) was a huge source of support to Julie as she tirelessly fought to change the law – but also how it created tension at home and affected their marriage. Sadly, Charlie was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and Ann would go on to help care for her husband, before he passed away in 2013. He was 88 at the time.

What other great TV dramas can I watch Sheridan Smith in?

If you haven't yet seen ITV's Black Work, we'd highly recommend catching up on ITVX. The series stars Sheridan as police officer Jo Gillespie, whose world is thrown into turmoil when her husband Ryan (Kenny Doughty) is tragically shot dead. Determined to track down the killer, Jo is willing to put everything on the line to uncover the truth behind Ryan's murder. Mrs Biggs, which tells the story of the woman behind Britain’s most famous villain, Great Train Robber Ronald Biggs, is also a brilliant watch and is now available to watch on Netflix. As for what's next, Sheridan been cast in BBC One crime drama, The Cage, which you can read about here.