Natalie Dormer refuses to promote The Lady after Epstein revelations, donates salary to child-abuse charities

Natalie Dormer said she will not participate in promoting The Lady, the upcoming ITV/Britbox drama about Sarah Ferguson. The Game of Thrones and The Tudors alum, who also appeared in The Hunger Games, announced the decision after new disclosures about Ferguson’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Dormer said she would donate her salary from the project to charities focused on child abuse.

Dormer’s stance comes as The Lady, a four-part series from Left Bank Pictures—the company behind The Crown—follows Jane Andrews, Ferguson's former dresser who was convicted of murdering her boyfriend in 2001. Mia McKenna-Bruce stars as Andrews, with Dormer portraying Ferguson. The project is billed for a late-2025 release, with some options for a 2026 premiere, depending on production and scheduling.

New information has emerged since production on The Lady began, including a leaked 2011 email first published by the Mail on Sunday. In that correspondence, Ferguson described Epstein as a “supreme friend” and expressed apologies for publicly distancing herself from him. Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019, had longstanding ties to figures surrounding the British royal circle.

Ferguson’s representatives later described the leaked email as an effort to protect her and her daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, and called the communication a “chilling call” from Epstein. A spokesperson recalled that Epstein’s statements to the York family were cold and menacing in tone, illustrating the troubling context behind the leaked message.

Dormer has said she will not take part in promotional activities for The Lady and will instead donate her salary to organizations that support victims of child abuse. While the decision narrows the public-facing push for the series, producers have not indicated any changes to the broadcast plan, and the show remains positioned as a high-profile royal-era drama from Left Bank Pictures.

Industry observers will watch how the controversy affects the show’s marketing arc and audience reception, as The Lady navigates the complex history of its real-life subjects. The four-part drama joins a slate of projects exploring royal figures and the networks behind them, including the ongoing legacy of The Crown.