Daniel Mays has revealed that a conversation during early production on ITV’s Believe Me left a lasting impression on him regarding the drama’s potential significance.
The actor recalled speaking with the makeup designer whilst undergoing tests for his role, during which she offered a striking observation about the programme’s possible reach.
“She said, ‘this could honestly save somebody’s life, this drama,'” Mr Mays told GB News and other media.
He expressed hope that viewers who have experienced sexual, physical or psychological abuse might find strength through watching the production.
Daniel Mays portrayed John Warboys in Believe Me | ITV
“If this is a piece which speaks to them and allows them to find the courage and the determination within themselves to tell their stories and to have their day in the sun, and that’s a wonderful thing,” he said.
Believe Me dramatises the case of John Worboys, known as the black cab rapist, who became one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders.
Worboys exploited his position as a licensed taxi driver to target women after nights out, claiming he had won money at a casino or on the lottery before offering them drugged champagne that left them unconscious.
He received a conviction in 2009 for sexually assaulting twelve women between 2006 and 2008, though these represented only a fraction of suspected victims.
The programme centres on Sarah and Laila, portrayed by Aimée-Ffion Edwards and Aasiya Shah, who reported assaults by Worboys but felt dismissed by investigators.
The Metropolitan Police’s inadequate response to their allegations effectively allowed Worboys to continue offending undetected for years, with subsequent investigations linking him to over a hundred further allegations.
Mr Mays spoke candidly about the psychological demands of embodying Worboys, acknowledging the experience proved more challenging than anticipated.
“I’m not going to lie to you, it did, at times, take its toll,” he said. “It was a difficult thing and an unsettling thing to portray, and very isolating by its very nature.”
Daniel Mays talked about the emotional toll of the role | ITV
The actor, whose career spans more than 25 years, described the challenge as attempting to present a three-dimensional portrayal of someone fundamentally evil.
Writer Jeff Pope reached out to Mr Mays personally before the formal offer arrived through his agent, given the project’s sensitive subject matter.
Having worked with Pope twice previously, Mays accepted without hesitation, praising the writer’s journalistic background and thorough research methods.
“Jeff, as a writer, seems to get the best out of me as an actor,” he explained.
Following their ordeal, the drama shows how Sarah and Laila subsequently joined forces with solicitor Harriet Wistrich and barrister Phillippa Kaufmann QC to pursue legal action against the Metropolitan Police under the Human Rights Act.
Their case argued that the force’s investigative failures subjected them to degrading treatment and compounded their distress.
The women prevailed at every stage, including when the Met took their appeal to the Supreme Court.
Just eight years after Worboys’ conviction, his victims faced another battle when he became eligible for parole.
Carrie Symonds, who had narrowly escaped Worboys as a young woman and was then working in the Conservative Party press team, risked her career to lead a high-profile campaign demanding a judicial review of the Parole Board’s decision.
The campaign succeeded, Worboys’ release was blocked, and the women’s efforts ultimately brought about significant legal reforms.