Rachael Stirling & Kae Alexander star in new ITV drama Believe Me
Believe Me tells the story of three victims of one of the most prolific sex attackers in British history, John Worboys, dubbed by the media as the ‘black cab rapist’ after preying on women under the cover of being a ‘respectable’ licensed taxi-cab driver.
John Worboys was convicted in 2009 for sexually assaulting twelve women between 2006 and 2008, with their cases selected from a large number of suspected further victims. His modus operandi was to claim that he’d had a win at a casino or on the lottery, then persistently offer women he’d picked up in his cab after a night out a glass of champagne, which he’d laced with drugs, and which rendered his victims unconscious.
The drama focuses on the ordeal of two of the women who reported sexual assaults by Worboys, and how the Metropolitan Police failed to thoroughly investigate these women’s allegations, leading them to feel that they were just not believed.
Believe Me will relate how this left Worboys free to commit assaults undetected for many years. Following his trial came the realisation that he was linked to allegations of further sexual offences against over a hundred women.
The two women then joined forces with solicitor Harriet Wistrich and Phillippa Kaufmann QC, and decided to sue the Metropolitan Police under the Human Rights Act for their failure to properly conduct investigations into their allegations of sexual assault, leading to them being subjected to degrading treatment and contributing to their distress.
The drama highlights how these women fought against all odds to have their cases heard, whilst looming in the background was Worboys’ first parole hearing. Unbelievably, eight years after he was convicted for his crimes, his victims were made to fight again to keep him behind bars.
Believe Me begins on ITV on Sunday 10th May.
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