In the years following Ruth Ellis's execution, her mother, husband and son all committed suicide. The film makes no mention of this.
Although the film sticks closely to the known facts of the Ruth Ellis case, it exaggerates the age difference between Ruth Ellis and Desmond Cussen. Whereas Ian Holm was 27 years older than Miranda Richardson, Cussen was only three years older than Ellis.
Events depicted in this movie, in 1955, contributed to the gradual abolition of capital punishment in the U.K., which began in 1965, but was only finalized in 2004.