Sheridan Smith looks unrecognisable as she breaks down in tears while transforming into murder campaign mum Ann Ming for real-life ITV drama I Fought The Law

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Sheridan Smith looked unrecognisable as she transformed into grieving mother Ann Ming while filming for the upcoming real-life drama series I Fought The Law in Teesside on Friday.

The 43-year-old Gavin And Stacey actress was seen hysterically crying as she got into character to film harrowing scenes for the show.

She looked a far cry from her usual self as she embodied the murder campaign mum, donning a short yellow wig and a long beige trench coat, bundled over a knitted jumper.

Images from the set show Sheridan being held back by police officers and other characters during an emotional outburst and later sitting in the back of an ambulance clinging onto a cup and being comforted by another officer.

Her character Ann is a real woman who campaigned for 15 years to bring her daughter's murderer to justice.

Sheridan Smith looked unrecognisable as she transformed into grieving mother Ann Ming while filming for the upcoming real-life drama series I Fought The Law in Teesside on Friday

She looked a far cry from her usual self (Sheridan pictured in April)

She got the UK's 800-year-old 'double jeopardy' law overturned following the murder of her daughter Julie Hogg.

Julie was murdered by William 'Billy' Dunlop but jurors failed to find him guilty - twice.

This meant that even when Billy confessed, he could not be trialled again, in accordance with the law at the time.

However, after almost 17 years of campaigning with her husband Charles, who died in 2013, Ann got this law amended, and Billy is currently serving a life sentence.

Julie, who was a mother to three-year-old, Kevin, and a wife to Andrew, was only 22 when she died.

Tragically, Ann found Julie's body concealed in the bathroom of her terraced house in January 1990, 80 days after it was hidden there by Billy.

This was in spite of extensive searches of the property by police forensics teams in the days after her disappearance, who failed to detect her body.

Her daughter's killer had strangled and then sexually mutilated Julie, before hiding her body under the bath in her own house.

The 43-year-old Gavin And Stacey actress was seen hysterically crying as she got into character to film harrowing scenes for the show

Images from the set show Sheridan being held back by police officers and other characters during an emotional outburst

Sheridan's character Ann (right, in 2006) is a real woman who got the UK's 800-year-old 'double jeopardy' law overturned following the murder of her daughter Julie Hogg

Julie was murdered by William 'Billy' Dunlop and hidden in her own bathroom but jurors failed to find him guilty at both the trial and the retrial

Dramatic scenes saw Sheridan play out the emotional aftermath of Julie Hogg's body being found

Ann, now in her late 70s, is acting as a consultant throughout the production process of I Fought The Law (Sheridan pictured on set)

Distressing scenes saw Sheridan's character sitting in the back of an ambulance clinging onto a cup and being comforted by another officer

Ann, now in her late 70s, is acting as a consultant throughout the production process of I Fought The Law.

She said: '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. I'm overwhelmed that Sheridan Smith will be playing me.

'Having such an iconic and talented actress portray me is truly wonderful.'

Speaking about the role, Sheridan said: 'I am so honoured to have been asked to play the role of Ann Ming, a mother so determined to fight for justice for her murdered daughter that she spent 15 years campaigning for the Double Jeopardy Law to be changed.'

She added: 'She is a truly courageous and remarkable woman to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude.'

What is double jeopardy?

Double jeopardy is the principle that you can't go on trial for the same crime more than once.

Its purpose was designed to protect the innocent against judicial tyranny that could see them convicted arbitrarily, even after being found not guilty by a jury.

In 2005, the Labour government repealed the law after a number of campaigns, which persuaded senior judges and legal figures that a more nuanced approach was needed to deal with complex cases.

One of these was a campaign by the family of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993.

Five suspects were charged but not convicted after an initial investigation.

In 1999, a public inquiry led by Sir William Macpherson concluded that Metropolitan Police was institutionally racist.

As a result he that recommended double jeopardy be repealed in murder cases where extraordinary evidence later emerges.

The law came into effect in 2005, and since then retrials have been allowed in cases where 'new, compelling, reliable and substantial evidence' has comes to light.

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