Believe Me true story: Where is John Worboys now?

This article contains discussion of subjects including sexual assault and rape that some readers may find upsetting.

ITV’s new four-part drama, Believe Me, is all about shifting the narratives of the John Worboys case over to the victims and how they were failed by the system.

Centring the stories of Sarah (Aimée-Ffion Edwards) and Laila (Aasiya Shah), we follow them as they report their sexual assaults to the police but are failed by the Metropolitan Police, who didn’t thoroughly investigate their allegations.

As per the series synopsis: “We see what countless women say they have to go through after reporting being raped, the indignity of multiple interviews and intimate evidence gathering, and how they can face sceptical lines of questioning from the police.”

Played by Daniel Mays, we see how Worboys is eventually imprisoned for his crimes but in the final episode, see how his newfound faith is a pillar for his parole defence. While we do see what ends up happening to Worboys by the end of Believe Me, many viewers may be wondering where the convicted serial rapist is now.

Read on to find out.

Believe Me true story: What happened to Sarah and Laila?

As stated in Believe Me, some names have been changed and some characters and scenes have been created for the purpose of dramatisation and to protect the anonymity of victims. That means that the real ‘Sarah’ and ‘Laila’ have been anonymised in the drama with fake names.

As we see in the four-parter, the two women join forces along with solicitor Harriet Wistrich (played by Philippa Dunne) to sue the Metropolitan Police for violating their rights under the Human Rights Act.

In 2018, they won their claim after it was found that the Met failed to investigate their Worboys rape allegations effectively.

The case itself set a precedent but also allowed victims to argue that they have been subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment under article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The deputy commissioner of the Met, Sir Craig Mackey, said at the time of the hearing: “We have always accepted that serious mistakes were made in this investigation and it was only the courage of the victims coming forward, including these two claimants, that enabled us to finally convict Worboys.

“The … appeal to the Supreme Court was not based on factual differences between us and the victims, but on the appropriate interpretation of European human rights law. There is no doubt that it will have implications for how we resource and prioritise our investigations.”

Known only to the public as DSD and NBV, they were awarded compensation totalling to £41,250.

Speaking after the verdict, DSD said that her message to the police was: “You have the procedures in place, now start doing your job. Stop using public money to fight [this case against liability]. Had you done your job properly there would not have been 105 victims. I can take the one victim. I can’t take the 105.”

On speaking to the real-life ‘Sarah’ for her preparation for her role in Believe Me, Aasiya Shah told Radio Times and other outlets during a press conference: “I think the part that was most shocking for me was – I knew that the system had its flaws, but I didn’t know that, to see it laid out so plainly like that and not just a one-time error. It’s a continuous thing. I think that was definitely, definitely shocking.

“It’s systemic, but it also speaks to, I think, a wider attitude about how we relate to women, how we relate to survivors. There are a lot of attitudes that need shifting and I think the system is just perpetuating those attitudes.”

The women were also instrumental in overturning Worboys’ parole verdict in 2018, along with London Mayor Sadiq Khan – with more on that below.

Where is John Worboys now?

John Worboys, who became known as the ‘black cab rapist’, was first jailed in 2009 for a total of 19 sex offences against 12 women between the years of 2006 and 2008.

As depicted in Believe Me, Worboys changed his name in prison to John Radford but in 2017, just eight years (his minimum term) into his indefinite original sentence, the Parole Board approved his release.

He was to be released with “stringent” licence conditions, having been approved after a psychologist concluded that he was at low risk of sexual reoffending.

In November 2018, the decision was ultimately reversed after two of his victims challenged the board’s decision, with the Parole Board stating that Worboys must remain in prison.

In terms of reasons cited, they said at the time that the serial rapist and predator had a “sense of sexual entitlement” and a need to control women.

According to BBC News, a summary of the reasons had been offered as to why the Parole Board eventually did refuse to release Worboys, which included “risk factors” such as Worboys’ “sexual preoccupation, a sense of sexual entitlement and a belief that rape is acceptable”.

Judges at the time also said the panel “should have undertaken further inquiry into the circumstances of his offending” and examined how “the limited way… he has described his offending may undermine his overall credibility and reliability”.

Ultimately, if it wasn’t for the victims coming forward to block Worboys’s release, then the Parole Board may have never rethought their decision to release him from prison.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan was also also involved in seeking the judicial review of the Parole Board decision, later saying of the overturned decision: “I welcome today’s decision, which will bring some reassurance to the victims of John Worboys and to all Londoners.

“My top priority as Mayor of London is to keep Londoners safe. I will always do everything within my power to keep them safe from harm. I was approached by one of his victims and I felt it was my duty to seek a Judicial Review into the Parole Board’s irrational decision.”

He went on: “I am pleased that our representations were helpful in quashing the Parole Board’s decision and will help to maintain Londoners’ confidence in the criminal justice system.

“Regardless of today’s rulings, there needs to be an urgent overhaul of the way Parole Board decisions to release offenders are taken. The shocking failures in the way John Worboys’s victims were treated has damaged confidence in the criminal justice system and the time has come for more transparency surrounding decisions to let offenders out of prison”

Following the public outcry of the parole decision, Worboys was handed two more life sentences in 2019 with a minimum term of six years, after pleading guilty to sex attacks on four women.

Those four other victims came forward and subsequently, Worboys admitted to administering a drug with the intention of carrying out indecent assaults, rape or sexual activity on four women, which dated back to 2000.

The judge, Mrs Justice Maura McGowan, said at the time that he was still “dangerous”.

She said at the Old Bailey hearing: “I am satisfied you are a continuing risk… I find you are currently dangerous. Your offending spans five years more than previously known. I do not know when, if ever, you will cease to be a risk.”

There were numerous victims of Worboys, with the police previously saying that they believed the former cab driver committed offences against more than 100 women before he was caught.

In 2018, Worboys was transferred to HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire from HMP Belmarsh in south-east London, the Press Association reported at the time.

In August 2025, Lancashire Police confirmed that a new investigation into Worboys was underway after an allegation of rape was made, which would have been during the time that Worboys worked as a stripper.

“We received a report of rape which was reported to have happened in the late 1990s in Blackpool,” a spokesperson said at the time. “An investigation was launched, and our enquiries are ongoing. No one has been arrested at this stage.”

Now 68 years of age, it was announced in January 2026 that Worboys is set to face a public parole hearing as he continues his bid to be released from prison.

Peter Rook KC, on behalf of the chair of the Parole Board, said Worboys will face a public parole hearing on 9 and 10 June.

He said: “Proceedings are likely to include discussion about allegations that Mr Worboys has carried out serious sexual assaults for which he has not been convicted.”

While most parole hearings are a private affair, the case of Worboys will be the 12th to be held in public since 2022 and will ultimately decide if Worboys – who is a Category A prisoner – is safe to be released or if he could be moved to an open jail.

When asked about whether Worboys’ upcoming parole hearing was a consideration during the Believe Me process at all, Jeff Pope told Radio Times and other outlets during a press conference: “I mean, let’s see. I can’t imagine what he can be arguing that would mean that he will get parole this time, given that there are – we’re talking about someone who the police say has assaulted 105 women.

“So, to me, I’m thinking, ‘Well, there you go.’ I’m not going to finish that sentence because I don’t think across the line, but that’s the fact. This is a man who’s attacked 105 women.”

For information and support, please visit Rape Crisis or The Survivors Trust.

Believe Me will air on ITV from 10 May with all four episodes available to stream on ITVX.

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