Believe Me; Rivals

“Why make a drama about the crimes of John Worboys, the Black Cab Rapist? The cynical answer would be that these things are a ratings banker for ITV1. A more generous reading would be that this sobering four-part series, Believe Me, throws a spotlight on how the odds are stacked against women who report sex crimes to the police, a state of affairs which has not improved greatly since Worboys committed his offences two decades ago. It is a story to boil the blood.”
Anita Singh, Telegraph

“The women and their suffering – not just initially, but in the months and years to come, a result of the assaults and then of the wider insult of not being believed – are real and vivid. Worboys is given only enough space in the story as is required. A punchy, intelligent script makes it a compelling as well as nonexploitative drama that others would do well to learn from, and which makes Pope’s next project, about the murder of Sarah Everard, one not to fear. Will it – will either – make a difference to how we treat these rampant crimes? Well, that’s another story.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“The drama depicts harrowing medical examinations, and a scene of an attack on another woman in woodland is particularly hard to watch. One suspects the production team agonised over its inclusion, but it felt to me the right editorial call, demonstrating how Worboys grew ever more reckless as the net finally closed in. Towards the end the drama’s title takes on a secondary meaning, as Worboys himself seeks to be believed, claiming contrition and a religious conversion. Once again Pope marshals a complex web of material, including the legal action brought by Sarah and Laila against the police, into a punchy, dramatically coherent whole. Some people don’t like true crime dramas, thinking most are prurient and exploitative. This is not one of those shows. It’s a must-watch.”
Ben Dowell, The Times

“Does it help victims of these, or similar crimes, to see their experiences reenacted as entertainment? The cast handle their characters – particularly those not directly based on real people – with sensitivity, and Pope does redirect the series’ focus, in its second half, towards bigger concerns about the justice system. But Believe Me appears to feel an obligation to show the offending, so that it can fully demonstrate the establishment’s complacency. In doing so, it punctuates an important story with something jarringly tawdry.”
Nick Hilton, The Independent

“The show itself teeters on the line between social satire and silliness like a drunk exiting a nightclub. We are in the realms of melodrama here, something like a Mexican telenovela meets a po-faced BBC period drama with Yazoo in charge of costume design. The writers are determined never to let up, and so in the four episodes made available to me (three drop this week), we get a polo match, a play within a play, a comedy of errors farce with most of the cast literally getting locked in cupboards, a big boardroom vote like Succession, a general election, a four-way sex scandal and the usual assortment of what in the Eighties was called nookie, legover, bonking or rumpy-pumpy.”
Benji Wilson, Telegraph

“There’s a lot going on, but it’s the relationships – particularly the meaningful ones – that we care about. That includes the secret gay romance between Corinium programme controller Charles (Gary Lamont) and Rupert’s aide Gerald (Hubert Barton), who must deal with new challenges as Gerald announces his engagement. Everyone’s got secrets, everyone is screwing each other over, but Rivals manages to retain a sunny, uplifting atmosphere. The English country houses are beautifully indulgent; the 80s details, from the cars to the Waitrose bags, are gorgeously tactile.”
Emily Bootle, The i

“Little is taken too seriously in Cooper’s world (one character keeps repeating “Neil Kinnock” to stop becoming aroused and there’s a marmalade-dropping line about Mrs Thatcher), and yet the series still has huge heart. It is tender and well-observed about relationships when it needs to be. So expect more sensitive yearning between Freddie (Danny Dyer) and Lizzie (Katherine Parkinson) and… well. My lips must be sealed beyond that. Except to say that Aidan Turner (Ross Poldark!) has to pull the most hilariously bad orgasm face in a shower sex scene that I did not care to rewind. Rest assured: there is much to look forward to here. Pop a cork and enjoy.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“The dialogue is, as ever, fabulous. There are tremendous references to Frank Bough. And there are many winking, twinkling jokes re hideously outdated attitudes to homophobia and the ignorance and panic that once surrounded Aids. Rivals walks this tonal tightrope in a flammable fuchsia tutu. Which is to say, perfectly. How best to reward such exquisitely knowing escapism? Ten stars? Ten thousand stars? Rivals is beyond earthly praise. Let us instead insert a single rose between its tireless bum cheeks and raise a glass of Cinzano to its naked audacity. Bottoms up!”
Sarah Dempster, The Guardian