This article contains full spoilers for the ending of Believe Me, as well as discussion of subjects including sexual assault and rape that some readers may find upsetting.
By the end of the third episode of ITV’s Believe Me, Carrie (Miriam Petche) had decided to waive her anonymity in order to be a focal point for the John Worboys case in the hopes of encouraging more victims to come forward.
While we saw that Worboys was sentenced, worries remained for Sarah (Aimée-Ffion Edwards) and Laila (Aasiya Shah) who realised that after serving his minimum term of eight years, Worboys could be up for parole by the end of it. Meeting with solicitor Harriet Wistrich (Philippa Dunne), she tried to alleviate their worries, citing the fact that Worboys would need to admit to what he’s done and had pleaded innocence since the start.
Laila uses the opportunity to inform the women that she was told by the police that the true number of Worboys’s victims was up to 500, a harrowing and sobering thought. But nevertheless, with Harriet’s help, the pair moved forward with their case against the Metropolitan Police under the Human Rights Act.
But how did the final episode of Believe Me unfold? Read on to find out.
Believe Me ending explained: What happened to Sarah and Laila?
At the start of the final episode, Carrie is introduced to her colleague Cherry on her first day working in the Comms department for the Conservative Party. Later that morning, Cherry says that she recognises her as being a victim of the ‘black cab rapist’, a term that Carrie isn’t entirely comfortable with. She said that she learnt a lot from that media experience, which should put her in good stead for her new job role.
As for Sarah and Laila, they meet with Harriet, who continues to gather evidence that the Metropolitan Police investigations into their allegations weren’t effective at all. The facts are disappointing for Sarah and Laila but the evidence speaks for itself and Harriet says that QC Phillippa Kaufmann (Rachael Stirling) will be able to take on the case for them in court.
Later on, Laila tells Sarah that she’s met someone through her family’s arrangement and the prospect of telling him about her attack is too much to bear, with Laila still having not even told her family.
The women convene with Phillippa and they engage in a very heated meeting with the Metropolitan Police. A training programme is proposed for police officers, with the invitation extended to Sarah and Laila so that their experience can teach them. It’s a metaphorical slap in the face for them and the pair of women are incensed to take their case further, with Harriet and Phillippa agreeing.
In November 2013, they take their case to court and are forced to relive their harrowing interview experiences while the officers in charge of their respective cases take the stand. Some time later, we see that Sarah is pregnant but isn’t having an easy time of it in her relationship as she confides in her best friend Frankie (Laurie Kynaston).
We then see Sarah call Laila some months later and inform her that they’ve won their case against the police and that the judge ruled that if it wasn’t for the failures of the investigation into Sarah’s initial allegations, Laila would not have been raped by Worboys. It’s an emotional moment for the pair as they celebrate their win and their compensation – but it turns out it’s an even bigger day as it’s actually the day of Laila’s engagement.
The series then jumps quite a way forward to Laila living in a new home with her husband and a newborn baby in her arms. Again, we jump to 2018 as Sarah is enjoying a morning with her children but is shocked to see a news headline about Worboys’s parole release flash up on her phone.
Neither her nor Laila were informed by anyone and they’re, of course, distressed to learn that Worboys could be released back into public. With Phillippa and Harriet, they try to find out what the process was to reach the conclusion that Worboys is fit for release and conclude that they’ll be going after a judicial review.
Carrie is now the Director of Communications at CCHQ and upon hearing of Worboys’s release, joins Sarah, Laila, Harriet, and Phillippa to spearhead a huge publicity campaign to raise money, awareness and force a judicial review of the decision.
Harriet and Phillippa comb over the evidence at hand and find that Worboys has used a story about a relationship break-up as the basis of an explanation for his crimes, something they seek to tear apart. On the day of the court hearing, Laila bails and can’t make it but Sarah goes along, facing her fears of riding in a black cab in order to get there in time. After an emotional hearing, the decision to free Worboys is overturned and we then see a happy Sarah enjoying time in her garden with her three children.
Things are a bit more sombre for Laila who is sat outside on her garden bench, clearly preoccupied with her thoughts. When her husband sits beside her and asks if she’s okay, she takes that opportunity to finally tell him about her experience. We don’t hear their conversation but instead, see him embrace Laila.
What happened to Worboys at the end of Believe Me?
In prison, Worboys maintains that everything mapped out in the numerous allegations was actually consensual and that he never drugged anyone. He’s now changed his name to John Radford in a bid to shake off the “dirt” associated with his real name after the women came forward with their allegations.
He turns to a life of religion as he seeks solace in Christianity and now attends church. He meets with a forensic psychologist who is there to review his “progress” and Worboys says that he has now changed his stance on the case. He explains that he accepts full responsibility for his offences but when probed about why he’s changed his mind, he cites his belief in God. He expresses feeling guilty about his offences and says that he’s ready to start the sexual offenders treatment programme.
As Worboys is tidying up after a church meeting, he’s informed by another inmate that talking about his newfound religion will only “get you so far” and he tells Worboys that he’ll need to give them “a reason” as to why he committed the crimes he did.
When we then see Worboys meeting with the psychologist again, he’s reeling off a story about an ex-girlfriend and how their break-up impacted him so much. He says they rekindled a year later but that he found her drunk and just took her home to her mother’s, but was furious about it.
He then explains that it was that evening that he went out in his car “looking for someone”, saying that was his first victim in 2006. He admits to drugging his victims, saying that he only put his penis inside one of his victims “for four seconds”. It turns out that his inmate’s advice works and the psychologist recommends that he be eligible for parole. But then the news is announced — in an unprecedented turn of events, Laila and Sarah come together to get Warboys’s decision overturned with the help of Carrie.
Worboys returns to prison after his parole decision is quashed.
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