Sarah Urges Police to Watch Believe Me Itvx After Worboys Failings
Sarah said believe me itvx should be “compulsory viewing for all police officers” after describing how police disbelieved her report of John Worboys’ attacks. The survivor of the 2003 assault used the ITV drama’s release on ITVX to push the issue back into the room, with the Met’s handling of her case still central to the debate.
“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,” Sarah said. Her account gives the drama’s premise a direct, current edge: the series is not just about a case, but about what happens when an allegation is mishandled at the first point of contact.
Sarah’s appeal on Good Morning Britain
Sarah made the case publicly while urging other victims to come forward and press charges. “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. She also pushed back at the old blame-shift around why victims accepted drinks: “Nobody should feel like, 'Oh, that was my fault, because I accepted that drink'.”
That message lands alongside the series’ cast and subject matter. Believe Me is based on the John Worboys case, with Daniel Mays playing rapist John and Aimée-Ffion Edwards, Aasiya Shah and Miriam Petche portraying the three victims Sarah, Laila and Carrie. The drama centres on women who were drugged in the back of John’s black cab and pursued justice despite a lack of support from the Met.
Metropolitan Police apology
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the force had “previously apologised for the serious failings in the investigation, and the distress caused to all those affected.” The same spokesperson said the case led to “significant improvements” in how rape and sexual offences are investigated, and said the force is now working with partners across the criminal justice system “to ensure victim-survivors are at the heart of our response, with a greater focus on suspects and their offending.”
That leaves Believe Me doing two jobs at once: drama and public-service warning. Daniel Mays praised his co-stars’ “heartbreaking performances” in an Instagram post, saying he was “so unbelievably moved” by all three when he watched the show for the first time. For anyone still dealing with the fallout of a dismissed complaint, the practical takeaway is simple — the series is now available to stream, and Sarah is using it to argue that police should watch it as training, not entertainment.
