Believe Me: ITV’s True Story of Police Failures & the Women Who Paid the Price
GET YOUR STREAMING GUIDE HERE
In some cases, we earn commissions from affiliate links in our posts.
Believe Me is ITV’s upcoming four-part drama about the case of John Worboys and the women who fought to be heard after reporting him. Rather than treating it as a standard crime drama built around the investigation alone, the series focuses on what happened after the attacks, including the way survivors were dismissed, the legal battle that followed, and the long effort to keep him behind bars.
What is Believe Me about?
For readers unfamiliar with the case, John Worboys was a licensed London black-cab driver who used his job to target women in the mid to late 2000s. He would pick up passengers late at night, tell them he was celebrating a lottery or casino win, and offer them champagne that had been laced with drugs. He was convicted in 2009 after attacks on 12 women in London between 2006 and 2008, though the scale of the case later proved to be far larger.
ITV says Believe Me centers especially on two women, Sarah and Laila, who reported sexual assaults and then found that their allegations were not properly investigated by the Metropolitan Police. The drama follows both the original ordeal and the institutional failures that came after it, showing how they were left feeling that they hadn't been believed while Worboys remained free to offend against other women. ITV also notes that Sarah and Laila are pseudonyms, and that some details have been changed to protect anonymity.
The real-life case behind the drama
One of the most significant elements of the case was not only the pattern of the attacks, but the way repeated reports were missed or mishandled. ITV says the drama covers how survivors later joined forces with solicitor Harriet Wistrich and Phillippa Kaufmann KC to sue the Metropolitan Police under the Human Rights Act for failures in the investigation of their complaints. Their case became an important legal milestone because it challenged the way police had handled reports of sexual violence.
The story also extends beyond Worboys’ original conviction. After his trial, it became clear that he was linked to allegations of further sexual offences against more than 100 women. ITV says the drama also addresses the later parole battle, when survivors had to fight once again after moves were made toward his release.
Who’s in the cast?
Aimée-Ffion Edwards (Slow Horses, Peaky Blinders) stars as Sarah, Miriam Petche (Industry) plays Carrie, and Aasiya Shah (The Beast Must Die, Bloods) plays Laila. ITV has also confirmed Philippa Dunne as Harriet Wistrich and Rachael Stirling as Phillippa Kaufmann KC. Daniel Mays (Des, Moonflower Murders) plays John Worboys (sorry about that end of paragraph billing, Daniel Mays, but it really felt like Worboys should go at the end).
One notable detail is Carrie’s role in the series. ITV says the character is based on Carrie Symonds, now Carrie Johnson (aka Mrs. Boris Johnson, wife of the former PM), who was targeted by Worboys when she was younger and later became involved in the campaign against his parole, helping push for judicial review of the Parole Board’s decision. Given her public role in making sure justice was done, there's been no need to change her name for the series.
Behind the scenes
The series is written and executive produced by Jeff Pope, whose previous factual dramas include A Confession, Little Boy Blue, and Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. Julia Ford (Until I Kill You, Showtrial) directs, and Catrin Lewis Defis (The Pact, Hollington Drive) produces. Believe Me is made by Etta Pictures in association with ITV Studios and was filmed in Cardiff with support from Creative Wales.
When and where to watch IT
ITV has described Believe Me as “coming soon” to ITV1 and ITVX, but has not yet announced an exact UK premiere date. It will also air on STV and stream on STV Player. For US viewers, no broadcaster or streaming outlet has been announced so far. We'll update when we know more.
