ITV Believe Me premieres on Worboys assaults, police failings

ITV's four-part true crime drama "Believe Me" premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. on ITV1, recounting the real-life experiences of women assaulted by London black cab driver John Worboys and the Metropolitan Police's investigative shortcomings that allowed his attacks to continue.

The series, written by Jeff Pope and starring Daniel Mays as Worboys, centers on three survivors: Sarah (Aimée Ffion Edwards), Laila (Aasiya Shah) and Carrie Symonds, now Carrie Johnson (Miriam Petche). It depicts how Worboys targeted women after nights out, claiming lottery or casino winnings before offering drug-laced champagne that rendered them unconscious for sexual assaults. Police estimate he attacked more than 100 women between 2000 and 2008.

Worboys, from Enfield, north London, was convicted in 2009 at the Old Bailey of sexual assaults and drugging 12 women from 2006 to 2008. In 2019, he received two life sentences with a six-year minimum term after admitting to spiking four more victims' drinks. A 2017 parole decision was overturned following a victim-led campaign, and in 2021 the Court of Appeal rejected his challenge to the sentences. A public parole hearing is scheduled for June 9 and 10, 2026, to...