A survivor behind ITV's drama Believe Me has said the series should be compulsory viewing for every police officer, after speaking publicly about the Metropolitan Police's failings in the black-cab-rapist case involving John Worboys. Sarah, who was attacked in 2003, said the story is still hard to live with because she was not believed when she came forward.
The series, which is available to stream now on ITVX, centres on the ordeal of three victims who were drugged by John in the back of his black cab and on their fight for justice. Daniel Mays stars as rapist John, while Aimée-Ffion Edwards, Aasiya Shah and Miriam Petche play Sarah, Laila and Carrie.
Sarah said she still carries guilt for the attacks that followed after she was drugged and raped by John Worboys in 2003. She said police told her categorically it had not happened, a response that left her feeling dismissed at the exact moment she most needed help. “Not being believed was so hard with the police in particular. They clearly sowed a seed in my then-partner's head. He wanted to believe me, but he'd been told that this probably didn't happen. And towards the end of the investigation, I was told categorically it hadn't happened,” she said.
That detail gives the drama its force. This is not a retelling built around a courtroom victory or an easy ending. It is about what happens when victims are left to carry their own evidence, their own doubt and, in Sarah's words, their own shame. She said people had asked why they accepted the drink, but argued that Worboys manipulated them into it until it felt easier to comply than to keep resisting. “You need to press charges. We need him to stay behind bars for as long as possible for the protection of every young girl, young woman out there,” she said.
The Metropolitan Police has previously apologised for the serious failings in the investigation. It has also said the case led to significant improvements in how rape and sexual offences are investigated. That matters because the drama lands in the middle of a wider argument about whether such failures are historical or still embedded in how victims are treated when they first come forward.
Sarah used the moment to push other victims to report what happened to them, saying silence only helps offenders stay free. She also said the show should be seen by officers because it reflects the damage caused when a complaint is brushed aside rather than properly pursued. The programme has already drawn praise from Daniel Mays, who described his co-stars' performances as heartbreaking and said he was deeply moved when he watched it for the first time.
The answer, then, is not just that Believe Me is a television drama. It is a warning about what disbelief can do, and a reminder that the people first met at the police station may still be living with the consequences long after the case file is closed.
