Jeff Pope says violence against women hits breaking point in Believe Me Itv
Jeff Pope says believe me itv tells the story of survivors of John Worboys, the man known as the black-cab rapist, and he says violence against women is at "a bit of a breaking point." The writer is using the ITV drama to press a blunt case for change in how sexual assault complaints are handled.
Worboys survivors and Carrie Symonds
The drama follows women who were failed and doubted by the Metropolitan police after attacks linked to Worboys, who was jailed in 2019. Carrie Symonds, who provided evidence that helped lead to that jail term after being drugged but escaping rape, is portrayed by Industry actor Miriam Petche.
Pope said the starting point for any response should be "We believe you," a line that cuts straight through the procedural distance that survivors often face. He said the women were made to retell their story numerous times and were asked if they were the kind of woman who "would wear red nail varnish."
Metropolitan police numbers
Pope put a figure on the scale of the problem: for every 100 rapes and sexual assaults reported to the police, only three proceed to charges. He said "the police just won’t seem to me to change" and described the Metropolitan police as "not yet fit for the role in 2026."
That is why this drama matters as more than a true-crime retelling. It takes a case already fixed in the record and turns it into a current argument about how complaints are received, how often survivors are made to repeat themselves, and whether the system still starts from suspicion instead of belief.
Etta Pictures set the record
Etta Pictures researched the programme with executive producer Saurabh Kakkar, and Etta Pictures and ITV Studios worked with Worboys survivors to tell their stories accurately. Some survivors visited the film set, and the survivors, including Symonds, have seen Believe Me.
Pope said he did not have an anti-police agenda, but the line he drew was hard to miss: "Just because you’re a man and it’s not happening to you it doesn’t mean you can forget about it … you’ve got to lance the boil." If Believe Me lands as intended, it will do what the title promises and force the issue back onto the table, not as history but as a live test of whether the Met has changed enough to be trusted with the next complaint.
