What actually happened to real Cheryl Bradshaw from harrowing Netflix film Woman of the Hour

Amongst the plethora of questions raised by viewers ever since Netflix's latest true-crime drama, Woman of the Hour, landed on the streaming service is what the real Cheryl Bradshaw has been up to since escaping from the clutches of serial murderer Rodney Alcala back in the 1970s.

Little did she know during their first meeting that the man she'd once considered a love interest would become known as the dreaded 'Dating Game Killer'.

Who is Cheryl Bradshaw?

Netflix announced earlier this year that Pitch Perfect favourite Anna Kendrick would be both producing and starring in an eerie new crime blockbuster.

The movie landed last week, seeing 39-year-old Kendrick leading in the role of Cheryl Bradshaw, a real person who, back in 1979, appeared on a popular match-making show titled The Dating Game in a bid to find both love and fame.

With three bachelors to choose from - both in real life and in the brand new thriller - Cheryl would ask her potential lovers a series of questions before choosing one to enjoy a date with.

What she couldn't have known at the time was that one of her bachelors had several murders under his belt, and would go on to commit countless heinous crimes after his appearance on the show.

Though Rodney Alcala's killings wouldn't come to light until after his appearance on the show, their interaction on air led Cheryl to suspect that something was off about her potential beau's character.

Cheryl Bradshaw and Rodney Alcala on the show (ABC)

Did the real Cheryl actually go on a date with Rodney Alcala?

Despite being chosen by Cheryl on the show after he impressed her with his answers to her many questions, she managed to escape from her obligation to date him afterwards.

Thankfully, she ultimately decided to cancel the romantic meet-up after enduring a 'creepy' conversation with him after the cameras stopped rolling.

Opening up about her decision to pull out of the date last-minute, which probably saved her life, Bradshaw later told the Sydney Telegraph in 2012 that she'd 'started to feel ill'.

"He was acting really creepy," she added. "I turned down his offer. I didn’t want to see him again."

She reportedly called up producer Ellen Metzger and said: "There’s weird vibes that are coming off of him. He’s very strange. I am not comfortable. Is that going to be a problem?"

Thankfully, producers didn't force Bradshaw go through with the date.

What happened to Cheryl after the show?

As we say, it wasn't until much after the dating show had concluded that the police uncovered the nature of Alcala's sickening crimes, leading to his sentencing of the murder of a 12-year-old girl in 1979.

The Texas resident is believed to have murdered more than 100 people, though he was only charged at the time with the definite killings of eight victims.

Alcala later died in prison in 2021 of natural causes.

Little is known about the real Cheryl Bradshaw's life nowadays, however.

The movie ends with the explanation that she left California after putting her acting dreams to bed and has since led a private life with her family.

Speaking about taking on the role of Cheryl in the press notes for the film, Kendrick said as per PEOPLE that she'd hoped to 'find that balance between telling an emotionally satisfying narrative without glazing over the repeated miscarriages of justice that took place'.