The ITV drama Mr Bates vs. the Post Office has become the British broadcaster’s biggest new drama in over a decade, beating even the launch of Downton Abbey back in 2010.
05.01.2024 - 20:06 / ok.co.uk
Throughout the first week of January, ITV viewers at home have been gripped by fresh new drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which followed the real life journey of several sub-postmasters who were wrongfully accused (and in some cases even charged) with stealing from the Post Office, thanks to a Horizon computer error.
The show, which spanned across four nights in total, saw a star studded cast including Toby Jones, Will Mellor and Julie Hesmondhalgh bring the story to life, including their ongoing fight for justice and compensation for the hundreds of people that were still affected by the error. In emotional scenes, fans saw the toll of the scandal with their own eyes, with several of the accused having lost their jobs, their homes and in some cases even having taken their own lives after struggling to cope with the mental toll of being wrongfully blamed for the error.
Here, we take a closer look at the real people behind the stories portrayed on screen… What is Mr Bates vs the Post Office about? Mr Bates vs The Post Office, is a four-part mini series documenting the fight for justice from several post-office employees who were caught up in a scandal of the late 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
The scandal, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British history, first began when the Post Office decided to incorporate a new computer system named Horizon in their branches.
The software used began to cause accounting errors and wrongfully declared that hundreds of sub postmasters were in deficit, meaning their accounts didn’t balance and that money was missing. As a result, the Post Office ordered the sub postmasters to make good the fictional losses, while also accusing them of stealing, false
The ITV drama Mr Bates vs. the Post Office has become the British broadcaster’s biggest new drama in over a decade, beating even the launch of Downton Abbey back in 2010.
Actor Toby Jones has won the nation's hearts while portraying real life hero Alan Bates in ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office, and fans have been left shocked after discovering a rather surprising role he had in the past.Toby, 57, has starred in a number of popular films and TV shows, and has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Unvierse, the Harry Potter franchise, and The Hunger Games trilogy. He appeared as Dr.
Despite starring in the ITV series that has gripped the nation and caused the PM to agree to a new law, Mr Bates actor Toby Jones was spotted looking like any regular commuter, as he caught the London Tube.Toby, 57, plays Alan Bates in ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office, a series based on the real-life story of the Post Office Horizon scandal, which has been described as “the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history”. It focuses on the huge scandal that occurred between 1999 and 2015, in which 700 Post Office branch managers were wrongly accused of theft, after faulty software made it appear money was missing from their outlets.
A postmaster caught in the Post Office scandal revealed the shocking impact on his life during Good Morning Britain. Hosts Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid addressed one of the hot topics of the moment on Wednesday, 10 January – ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office and the devastating impact on those whose lives were destroyed by the shocking miscarriages of justice that occurred. Susanna then introduced a moving video interview with Parmod Kalia, one of the few former subpostmasters to have had their conviction quashed - but who claims it does not reverse the damage done.
ITV's new drama series, Mr Bates vs The Post Office has sparked fury across the country as the post office scandal which saw hundreds of postmasters being wrongfully accused of fraud has been brought to light.
Acclaimed Brit actor Toby Jones has been impressing viewers as activist and former sub-postmaster Alan Bates in the series Mr Bates vs the Post Office - and it has emerged that the 57-year-old father of two made a huge sacrifice just to get the show off the ground. Since its release on New Year’s Day, the gripping ITV drama has brought the shocking real-life Post Office scandal back into the spotlight, as well as the real-life people involved, with viewers outraged at the miscarriage of justice which took place, against hundreds of innocent postal workers.
Actors and staff behind an ITV drama about the Post Office Horizon IT scandal have been left “proud and overwhelmed by the power our drama has had”.
EXCLUSIVE: With the almost impossible-to-believe Post Office scandal bedecking the front of most UK national newspapers this week, the writer of the ITV smash drama about the saga has said it “tapped into” frustrations with the “politics of the moment.”
The current landscape is making it “increasingly hard” to fund British stories such as the Post Office drama that is currently dominating the news agenda, according to ITV‘s drama boss.
This Morning fans were left in tears as the real-life Mr Bates made an appearance on the programme, alongside his wife, Suzanne. Alan and Suzanne have been thrust back into the spotlight after the release of ITV's new series, Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
A petition asking for the former Post Office boss Paula Vennells to be stripped of her CBE because of the Horizon scandal has now got over one million signatures.
Metropolitan Police detectives are looking at “potential fraud offences” committed during the Post Office Horizon IT scandal.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) of the UK has issued a statement, following the huge public reaction to the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, which aired last week.
A man who punched drag star The Vivienne in a Liverpool McDonald's has been sentenced for committing a homophobic hate crime.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office - a new limited drama series focusing on 'the greatest miscarriage of justice in British legal history' - aired on ITV and ITV X on New Year's Day.The show follows the real life events of 2009, when a group of sub-postmasters formed the Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance, after a defective IT system called Horizon led to a slew of wrongful prosecutions of fraud, theft and false accounting. But while plenty of viewers went through a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the duration of the available four episodes, it was the final instalment that left fans the most teary eyed of all.
Will Mellor was left "fuming" after playing Lee Castleton, a victim of the Post Office scandal, in ITV's series Mr Bates vs The Post Office.The series tells the true story of Alan Bates and his fight for justice following the Post Office scandal in the late 90s. The cast, alongside Will, 47, includes Toby Jones, Katherine Kelly, Amy Nuttall, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Monica Dolan, Lia Williams and Alex Jennings.There are four episodes in the series, with all of them available to watch on ITVX. After filming, Will questioned how those responsible for the crisis could live with themselves and labelled it as "vile" that former Post Office boss Paula Vennells received a CBE.
ITV1's Mr Bates vs the Post Office retells the story of how hundreds of innocent subpostmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft.
Piers Morgan, the host of TalkTV, has expressed his outrage over the "shameful" Post Office scandal that wrongfully imprisoned many post office workers.The staff were blamed for financial errors caused by a faulty computer system, Horizon. From 1999 to 2015, 700 postmasters and postmistresses were prosecuted by the Post Office in what is now known as one of the biggest scandals in British history. Piers shared his thoughts on social media, calling it "an absolute disgrace".
Viewers have so far been gripped with new ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which follows the story of the Post Office Scandal and the impact it has has on the real lives of those affected by it. The miscarriage of justice saw those wrongly accused endure immense suffering. Alongside those who went bankrupt and the pregnant mum facing jail, there are the four people who died by suicide and the 33 others no longer here and so will never see justice. The scandal goes back to 1999, when the Post Office rolled out a new computer accounting system Horizon, put in place to improve efficiency. But software glitches led to false financial discrepancies. This resulted in hundreds of innocent postmasters being accused of theft, false accounting, and fraud, the Mirror reports.
ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office has had viewers hooked with its new four-part series.