‘Playing one of Britain’s worst ever sexual predators absolutely terrified me’

On April 21, 2009, John Worboys – also known as the ‘black cab rapist’ – was jailed indefinitely with a minimum term of eight years after being found guilty of 19 sex offences against 12 women in London.

Despite police estimating that he preyed on more than 100 victims, in January 2018, a parole board then ruled that the 68-year-old, who changed his name to John Radford, was safe to be freed after serving 10 years.

This Sunday, an ITV drama starring Danny Mays as Worboys delves into the story of his survivors and how four of his victims came forward to challenge this decision, which was then overturned by the High Court.

Speaking to Metro ahead of the show’s release, Danny explained the immense challenge of portraying one of Britain’s worst ever sexual offenders and how he ‘underestimated’ the impact it had.

‘When I first read the scripts, they absolutely terrified me because I’m a father myself,’ he says.

‘My mind went to my daughter, who’s 13.

She’s a teenager now, and she’s venturing out on public transport with her mates, so it was a terrifying read.

‘But you have to sort of absorb that and let the writing conjure those emotions up inside of you, and you use that to fuel the fire and to shape the performance.’
The four-part true story centres on the ordeal of Sarah (Slow Horses’ Aimée-Ffion Edwards) and Laila (Aasiya Shah), who reported sexual assaults by Worboys but were left feeling like they were not believed by police.

A synopsis for the series reads: ‘Believe Me tells the story of how the victims of one of the most prolific sex attackers in British history were failed by the system.’
Discussing what it was like to play Worboys, who is due for a parole review this year over additional assaults not covered by the drama, Danny described him as being ‘the worst character he has ever played’.

‘I did underestimate how much it affected me,’ he says.

‘It’s a very difficult headspace to get in.

It’s a very uncertain character to play because you’re talking about a hugely manipulative, deranged and dangerous individual who’s one of Britain’s worst ever sexual predators.

‘I always throw the kitchen sink at every character I play, but to have this percolating in my head in preparation to then playing him, and the actual filming process, it was a really isolating character to play.’
Asked whether this is the most challenging role he has ever played, he adds: ‘It probably was, yeah… the task at hand was to somehow humanise him.

‘With bad characters I’ve played in the past, you have to find if there is any redeemable quality where I can humanise them?

But with him, there are no redeeming qualities and I really struggled.

‘What he did to the number of girls that he did it to is just evil… everything about it was so premeditated.’
As well as exploring the impact and trauma that Worboy’s victims suffered, the series showcases how two of his victims won compensation from the Metropolitan Police under the Human Rights Act in 2018 after their failure to thoroughly investigate the women’s claims.

Astonishingly, some of Worboy’s victims said that the police’s treatment of them had a worse impact than being raped.

‘This is predominantly and rightly so told from the victim’s point of view,’ Danny says.

‘So, it was all about allowing these women to tell their stories to own their moment and speak their truth.

‘And I hope that this drama shows that if anyone’s experiencing anything like that, if you speak your truth, if you get to a point where you can find that inner strength and determination to meet that challenge head on, then once you’ve done that, the process of healing can take place.

‘It’s only when you confront that demon that the light can be seen, and I think that’s what the drama brilliantly depicts, how they found that inner strength and courage.’
Another crucial figure in the last two episodes of this series is Carrie Symonds, who was one of Worboy’s victims and is played by Industry actress Miriam Petche.

The 38-year-old, who is married to Boris Johnson and was formerly the Head of Communications for the Conservative Party, commented on the new series by telling the Guardian: ‘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.’
Believe Me airs on ITV1 on Sunday at 9pm.
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