Believe Me: The true story of rapist John Worboys that inspired the ITV drama

A new ITV drama, Believe Me, is based on the harrowing true story of serial offender, John Worboys, a taxi driver, who drugged and raped multiple women who used his black cab services.

While initially being convicted of attacking 12 women in 2009, Worboys then went on to be found guilty of harming a further four in 2019. Police have estimated his total victim count could be close to the 200 mark.

This is everything we know about the true story of the 'Black Cap Rapist', John Worboys, and where the convicted sex offender is today.

John Worboys, sometimes known as John Radford, is a former black taxi driver who worked in London and Bournemouth, and who repeatedly drugged and raped women who got into his car. It's thought he carried out his crimes between the early 2000s and 2008.

Outside of working as a taxi driver, Worboys also worked as a stripper (under the name 'Terry') and made pornographic films. He was married in the 1990s, but split from his wife after a few years.

Worboys had a repeat method for assaulting women, often picking them up late at night in London or Bournemouth and claiming that he had won the lottery or won big in a casino, before showing the women a large bag of money as 'evidence'. The cabbie would then invite the women to have a glass of 'champagne' with him to celebrate, which he had spiked with sedatives.

Once the drugs had taken hold, Worboys would then assault the unsuspecting women. It took numerous women to bravely report what they'd experienced to the police before officers began connecting the dots and seeing similarities in the attacks.

Many women suffered from memory loss following their attack and were hazy on details, but still reported suspicions to police and cited unexplained bruising. One victim said she awoke to find her tampon missing but couldn't explain why, and another had given birth just weeks before her assault, according to a report by The Guardian.

It's not known exactly how many women Worboys assaulted, but in 2009 he was convicted of attacking 12 women, and in 2019 he was found guilty of a further four charges, with the earliest thought to date back to 2000.

Over 100 women have reported an incident involving Worboys to the police, but it's thought there could be double that number of victims overall.

After assaulting a student and dropping her back to her university accommodation in July 2007, Worboys' taxi was seen on CCTV and his number plate recorded. He was questioned but the case was later dropped.

Worboys then continued to offend and in February 2008, was rearrested after several more women reported being offered alcohol by him, becoming confused or losing consciousness, or remembering him growing aggressive if they refused to accept the drink.

On 18 February 2008, the taxi driver was charged with one count of rape, four counts of sexual assault and six counts of administering a substance with intent. Following a public appeal, more victims came forward bringing the total to 14.

During his January 2009 trial, Worboys pleaded not guilty to the 23 charges he faced, with his defence arguing that while he was an 'oddball', he was not a rapist or predator.

The jury later found him guilty of one count of rape, five sexual assaults, one attempted assault and 12 drugging charges, with incidents spanning July 2007 to February 2008.

Worboys was first convicted in 2009 of 19 offences (including rape and sexual assault) and handed an indeterminate sentence with a minimum of eight years. However, his story took a dramatic turn in 2018 when a public outcry and a landmark High Court ruling blocked his planned release, leading to a second trial in 2019 where he was found guilty of four further attacks and handed two life sentences.

Despite his attempts to appeal these "excessive" terms in 2021, the court stood firm, ruling him a "significant risk" to the public.

As of May 2026, the 68-year-old remains behind bars at the high-security HMP Wakefield.