Believe Me on ITV revisits the horrifying crimes of serial rapist John Worboys and exposes the devastating failures that allowed him to keep targeting women for years. But where is the so-called Black Cab Rapist now — and could he ever walk free again?
The new four-part dramatisation sees Daniel Mays take on the role of one of Britain’s most notorious sex offenders. The drama explores how the Metropolitan Police repeatedly failed victims who came forward with allegations against Worboys, allowing him to continue attacking vulnerable women while working as a licensed London cab driver.
As a convicted criminal and known sex offender, John Worboys targeted women while posing as a ‘respectable’ licensed taxi driver. The drama centres on the experiences of Sarah (Aimée-Ffion Edwards) and Laila (Aasiya Shah), who both reported assaults by Worboys, only for the Metropolitan Police to fail to properly investigate their claims.
John Worboys preyed on women after nights out, often convincing them he was celebrating a lottery or casino win. He pressured them into drinking Champagne laced with drugs before sexually assaulting them once they lost consciousness.
Here’s where John Worboys is now — and whether he could ever be released.
What was John Worboys convicted of?
Police arrested John Worboys after mounting evidence linked him to multiple attacks on women across London. In 2009, a jury convicted him of offences including rape, sexual assault and drugging women with intent. He carried out the attacks between 2006 and 2008.
Throughout the trial, John Worboys denied all 23 charges and claimed the sexual encounters were consensual. However, the jury found him guilty after hearing overwhelming evidence, including testimony from 14 victims.
At Croydon Crown Court on March 13 2009, the court convicted him over attacks on 12 women — including one count of rape, five sexual assaults, one attempted assault and 12 charges of drugging.
Police later said they believed the true number of victims could exceed 100, with some estimates putting the figure as high as 500. In April 2009, the court handed Worboys an indeterminate sentence for public protection, with a minimum term of eight years behind bars.
Mr Justice Penry-Davey ruled that the authorities should only release him if the Parole Board decided he no longer posed a danger to women.
Black Cab rapist John Worboys appeal
In January 2018, the BBC revealed that the Parole Board had approved John Worboys for release following a hearing held in late 2017.
The proposed release conditions included weekly probation meetings and strict instructions banning him from contacting any of his victims. Officials also expected him to remain on licence for at least 10 years, with the threat of immediate recall to prison if he broke any rules.
For many victims, the decision came as a huge shock — forcing them into another legal battle nearly a decade after his conviction.
Carrie Johnson (née Symonds) helped lead a major media and political campaign calling for a judicial review into the Parole Board’s decision. Several of Worboys’ victims backed the campaign, which succeeded in overturning the ruling to free him. In November 2018, authorities confirmed he would remain behind bars.
Carrie Johnson said: “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.”
Where is John Worboys now?
John Worboys, now known as John Radford, remains in prison at the age of 68. The Black Cab Rapist changed his name in an attempt to distance himself from his crimes and conceal his identity. He has also claimed to have found religion while in custody.
Following his original conviction, investigators linked him to allegations involving more than 100 further victims. In 2019, he admitted attacks on four additional women and received two more life sentences.
He is currently serving those life sentences at the high-security prison HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire after previously spending time at HMP Belmarsh. While in prison, he completed a treatment programme for sex offenders following recommendations from psychologists.
However, doubts still surround whether he genuinely feels remorse for his crimes.
Will he ever be released?
Harriet Wistrich, Solicitor and Director of the Centre for Women’s Justice, previously said John Worboys could first apply for parole in 2025.
She explained: “The date of 2025 is when he can apply for parole. It is then a matter for the parole board to assess whether he remains a risk. I know the women I represented and others who were his victims consider he is a very dangerous man. And I am not sure anything would convince them that he no longer poses a risk to women.”
She added: “The extent of his offending and his ability to manipulate others combine to suggest that he will remain a risk to women moving forward. As he has been given a life sentence, if he is ever released he will be subject to license conditions. He can potentially be recalled to prison at any time if risk factors were to increase following release.”
Harriet represented two of Worboys’ anonymous victims and helped challenge the decision to release him.
Parole hearing in 2026
The Parole Board granted an application for a public hearing in John Worboys’ case and scheduled it for June 9 and 10, 2026. However, the Board cancelled the oral hearing after John Worboys requested that the Board conclude his parole review through a paper hearing. The Parole Board approved his request.
However, on 14 May 2026, the Parole Board denied black cab rapist John Worboys parole for a second time. He will remain in prison after the Board ruled that he still posed a threat to women.
The Parole Board refused to release the 68-year-old because he “continues to represent a high risk of committing further serious sexual offences upon women”.
According to a decision published on Thursday, Worboys, now known as John Radford, “accepts that he does not currently meet the test for release”.
The Parole Board said he claimed to feel “enormous regret, remorse and shame” towards “the women he has harmed and their families and friends”. The Board made the decision behind closed doors.
‘This isn’t someone who should be back on the streets after eight years’
Discussing why he wanted to tell the story in Believe Me, Jeff Pope explained: “I first became aware of the story when it came around to the campaign to keep Worboys in prison after his parole was up for review in 2018.
“A group of women had gone through what they’d gone through, finally this serial sex attacker had been put away… And then they had to fight to keep him in prison, which seems so unfair and demoralising for them. I mean, the police knew he’d assaulted over 100 women. This isn’t someone who should be back on the streets after eight years. So that really grabbed my attention.
“I just remember thinking, they had to go through it twice — that’s what had an impact on me.”
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