Code 404's Daniel Mays has confirmed his next TV role in an ITV and STV true crime drama.
Believe Me is a four-part series from BAFTA-winning screenwriter Jeff Pope, which will tell the story of three victims of John Worboys, one of Britain's most prolific sex attackers.
Dubbed the "black-cab rapist", he preyed on women under the guise of being a licensed taxi driver and was convicted in 2009 of attacking 12 women between 2007 and 2008.
In 2019, he was convicted of attacking an additional four women based on incidents that took place in 2000, though police say he could have more than 100 victims.
A Thousand Blows star Mays will portray Worboys, while Peaky Blinders' Aimée-Ffion Edwards, Bloods' Aasiya Shah, and Industry's Miriam Petche will play three of his victims in the series.
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The drama will air on ITV1 and STV and be available for streaming on ITVX and STV Player. An official release date has not yet been announced.
Per an official synopsis, 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".
It continues: "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."
Two women worked with solicitor Harriet Wistrich and Phillippa Kaufmann QC, and sued the Metropolitan Police under the Human Rights Act for allegedly failing to conduct proper investigations into their allegations of sexual assault. The women successfully won their claim for compensation.
"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," the synopsis continues.
"Unbelievably, eight years after he was convicted for his crimes, his victims were made to fight again to keep him behind bars."
Speaking ahead of Believe Me's release, executive producer Jeff Pope said in a statement: "The series goes on an emotional journey with the victims of Worboys’ attacks, showing what happened to them when they reported being raped and assaulted, the pain and indignity of the process, and how this de-humanised them.
"But most shocking of all is how they felt that not being believed by the police and having the attacks recorded, essentially, as non-crimes, was as traumatising for them as the actual assaults."
Believe Me will be released on ITV1 and STV and be available for streaming on ITVX and STV Player.
If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information from Rape Crisis England and Wales, which works towards the elimination of all forms of sexual violence and sexual misconduct, on its website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.
Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.
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