Viewers have been left feeling ‘sick’ after watching a new ITV drama that centres on the Post Office scandal.
Four-part drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office covers the real-life miscarriage of justice which saw numerous sub postmasters be wrongly accused and convicted of theft and fraud due to an IT glitch, with some even being jailed for crimes they didn’t commit. You can see a trailer here:
Toby Jones plays real-life former sub postmaster Alan Bates, one of those wrongly convicted who fought to clear his name.
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A release from ITV explains: “The drama tells the story of one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history. Hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system. Many of the wronged workers were prosecuted, some of whom were imprisoned for crimes they never committed, and their lives were irreparably ruined by the scandal.
“Following the landmark Court of Appeal decision to overturn their criminal convictions, dozens of former sub postmasters and postmistresses have been exonerated on all counts as they battled to finally clear their names.
"They fought for over ten years finally proving their innocence and sealing a resounding victory, but all involved believe the fight is not over yet, not by a long way.”
Alongside Jones, Mr Bates vs The Post Office stars Julie Hesmondhalgh, Will Mellor, Shaun Dooley and Katherine Kelly.
The drama kicked off last night and has left viewers seething as the shocking story unfolded.
Taking to X, one person said: “I could have cried watching Mr Bates vs The Post Office, what those poor people went through. I salute every person involved in the campaign to date, you are all amazing. This should never have happened.”
Another commented: “One episode in and already I’m feeling sick to my stomach. It’s uncomfortable viewing, utterly incomprehensible what happened to the poor people.”
A third wrote: “Just watching Mr Bates vs The Post Office. I feel sick and angry for all those innocent people's lives ruined by a computer system failure.”
While someone else said: “Halfway through watching the series Mr Bates vs The Post Office. Genuinely emotional - and at times just disgusting! I know it is ‘drama’ but it is so powerfully done.”
Commenting on the show, the real-life Bates said: "This is one of the most egregious scandals the country has ever seen and a major corporation has managed to keep it covered up for years.
"Thankfully this has now been exposed and the victims are finally on their way to finding the justice they deserve."
Topics: TV and Film, ITV, UK News
Claire Reid