Carrie Johnson, who was spiked in John Worboys' London taxi in 2007 when she was 19, will be depicted in the upcoming ITV drama Believe Me, according to multiple reports. Johnson, now married to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, waived her right to anonymity as part of her campaign against Worboys' release and shared a first-person account with The Sunday Times in 2018.
John Worboys, known as the 'Black Cab Rapist', used his job as a taxi driver to attack women. He was convicted in 2009 for attacks on 12 women and later convicted of a further four attacks, according to multiple reports.
I hope Believe Me serves as a wake-up call to the police, the CPS, and the parole board. Far too often, women and girls are failed by the very institutions meant to protect them. The treatment of the victims in this case was truly shameful. Reform matters, but what we urgently need above all is a profound shift in culture. It takes enormous courage for women to come forward. They must know that when they do, they will be treated seriously and with respect, and that every effort will be made to ensure justice is done.
Daniel Mays will play John Worboys in the drama, while Miriam Petche will portray Carrie Johnson, according to major media reports. Aimee-Ffion Edwards will play a victim named Sarah.
The drama focuses on the victims' fight for justice and the failures of the Metropolitan Police, according to multiple reports. Carrie Johnson said in a statement: "I hope Believe Me serves as a wake-up call to the police, the CPS, and the parole board. Far too often, women and girls are failed by the very institutions meant to protect them." Sarah, a victim whose name has been changed, said: "Believe Me is about the courage of every woman who came forward to help put John Worboys behind bars. What happened to me changed my life, but in many ways the hardest part was not being believed for so many years."
Had he asked if I had wanted a drink, I would have politely declined but instead he asked: 'Will you celebrate with me?' This was much harder to refuse. It would have felt rude to say no. So I agreed and he handed me a glass. I was young and didn't really like the taste of alcohol, but I didn't want to offend him. While he wasn't looking, I poured the contents onto the cab floor.
The drama was written by Jeff Pope and is expected to air later this spring, according to major media reports. Pope spoke to all three key women for the drama, including Carrie Johnson, according to multiple reports. Daniel Mays said at a press conference: "When you're playing a real person in any drama, there's always a huge responsibility that comes with it, but this was a whole other level. This isn't a drama about the motives of John Worboys, and rightly so. This is told from the perspective of the victims." Pope added: "Yes, I spoke to all three of the key women that the story is about. I went to spend time with her at home, and she was extremely forthcoming and open about everything that had happened."
When you're playing a real person in any drama, there's always a huge responsibility that comes with it, but this was a whole other level. This isn't a drama about the motives of John Worboys, and rightly so. This is told from the perspective of the victims, and for them to tell their truth, have their stories told – the ordeals that they went through and the fight they took on against the Metropolitan Police and the court systems. So, when you're dealing with that, the onus was on me to get it absolutely 110% right. That was paramount to me.
I actually underestimated how much it was going to affect me. I've been a professional actor for 26 years, so I've done a lot of true crime and played a lot of wrong 'uns. When I got these scripts, it absolutely terrified me, because I'm a father myself.
Yes, I spoke to all three of the key women that the story is about. I went to spend time with her at home, and she was extremely forthcoming and open about everything that had happened. That’s a long process, though, because number one, you need to gain their trust, and the reasons for making the drama need to be articulated. It can’t have been ‘let’s make four hours of entertaining telly’. So it was a long process, it took a number of years, not months or weeks, it was years, in order to get to the point where we really could understand.