Actor Danny Mays has spoken about the immense challenge of portraying one of Britain's worst sexual predators, John Worboys, in the upcoming ITV drama Believe Me. Mays admitted that he 'absolutely terrified' himself when first reading the scripts, particularly as a father to a teenage daughter.
The Role and Its Impact
Worboys, also known as the 'black cab rapist', was jailed indefinitely in 2009 with a minimum term of eight years after being found guilty of 19 sex offences against 12 women in London. Police estimate he preyed on more than 100 victims. In 2018, a parole board ruled that Worboys, who changed his name to John Radford, was safe to be freed after serving 10 years. The drama explores how four of his victims challenged that decision, which was later overturned by the High Court.
Mays described the role as 'the worst character he has ever played'. He said: 'I did underestimate how much it affected me. 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.'
Humanising a Monster
The actor explained that unlike other villainous roles, he could find no redeeming qualities in Worboys. '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.'
The Victims' Perspective
The four-part series centres on the ordeal of two victims, Sarah and Laila, who reported their assaults but felt disbelieved by police. The synopsis states: '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.' The drama also highlights how two victims won compensation from the Metropolitan Police under the Human Rights Act in 2018 after their claims were not thoroughly investigated.
Mays noted: 'This is predominantly and rightly so told from the victim's point of view. It was all about allowing these women to tell their stories to own their moment and speak their truth.' He added that he hopes the drama could save lives by showing survivors that confronting their trauma can lead to healing.
Carrie Symonds' Involvement
The series also features Carrie Symonds, one of Worboys' victims and wife of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, played by Industry actress Miriam Petche. Symonds said of the drama: '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.'
Believe Me airs on ITV1 on Sunday at 9pm.
