ITV reveals Believe Me images
FIRST LOOK: Aimée-Ffion Edwards, Miriam Petche, Aasiya Shah and Daniel Mays head the cast of Believe Me, a four-part true crime drama based on the story of ‘black cab rapist’ John Worboys, coming soon to ITV in the UK.
Believe Me tells the story of how the victims of one of the most prolific sex attackers in British history were failed by the system. Worboys preyed on women under the cover of being a ‘respectable’ licensed taxi-cab driver. He was convicted in 2009 for crimes including sexual assault and drugging with intent against 12 women between 2006 and 2008, with their cases selected from a large number of suspected further victims.
ITV says the drama focuses on the ordeal of Sarah (Edwards) and Laila (Shah), who reported sexual assaults by Worboys (Mays), and how the Metropolitan Police failed to thoroughly investigate their allegations, leading them to feel that they were just not believed.
Sarah and Laila then joined forces with solicitor Harriet Wistrich (Philippa Dunne) and barrister Phillippa Kaufmann QC (Rachael Stirling) 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 their being subjected to degrading treatment and contributing to their distress. They won. And when the Met appealed that judgment all the way to the Supreme Court, they won again.
As these women fought against the odds to have their cases heard, looming in the background was Worboys’ first parole hearing. Only eight years after he was convicted for his crimes, his victims were made to fight again to keep him behind bars.
Sarah, Laila, Harriet and Phillippa were joined by Carrie Symonds (Petche), who was targeted by Worboys in her youth but had a narrow escape, and who was now a senior figure in the Conservative Party press team. She put her career on the line to spearhead a huge media and political campaign pushing for an unprecedented judicial review of the Parole Board’s decision.
The campaign, with Sarah, Laila and Carrie at the forefront, was successful, and Worboys’ parole was quashed. The bravery and resilience of these women resulted in significant changes to the law.
The series is written by Jeff Pope (Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. He also executive produces with Saurabh Kakkar on behalf of Etta Pictures. Julia Ford (Until I Kill You, Showtrial, Unforgiveable) directs the series with Catrin Lewis Defis (The Winter King, Hollington Drive, The Pact) producing.
Fillmed in Cardiff, the drama is coming soon to ITV1 and STV and will be available for streaming on ITVX and STV Player. Believe Me is distributed by ITV Studios.
tagged in: Aasiya Shah, Aimée-Ffion Edwards, Daniel Mays, Etta Pictures, ITV, ITV Studios, Jeff Pope, Julia Ford, Miriam Petche