It was a challenge humanising someone who is, essentially, evil

Daniel Mays and Aimee Ffion Edwards tell LYNN RUSK about dramatising the horrific story of serial-rapist John Worboys and the survivors whose courage helped bring him to justice

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SINISTER: Daniel Mays as John Worboys, dubbed 'The Black Cab Rapist'

DUBBED the “black cab rapist”, John Worboys has been described as one of the most prolific sex attackers in British history, taking advantage of his job as a licensed taxi driver to prey on women trying to get home safely.

The 68-year-old was convicted in 2009 of crimes including sexual assault and administering drugs with intent against 12 women between 2006 and 2008, with those cases selected from a much larger pool of suspected victims. Police believed he may have attacked over 100 women.

His modus operandi involved picking up women after nights out, claiming he'd won money at a casino or on the lottery, and persistently offering them drug-laced champagne to “celebrate’, rendering them unconscious.

A new four-part drama by award-winning screenwriter Jeff Pope recounts the experiences of two women, “Sarah” and “Laila’, played by Slow Horses actresses Aasiya Shah, Aimee-Ffion Edwards and Bloods Petche, who was targeted by Worboys in her youth but had a narrow escape.

Aimee-Ffion plays Sarah, a young single mother who, nine months after giving birth, is enjoying her first night out when she is attacked on her way home.

“The show goes on such a long journey, and that’s because it doesn’t just begin with the attack, it follows what happens afterwards,’ says the 38-year-old Welsh actress, who also starred in Peaky Blinders, and Detectorists