Mr Bates vs The Post Office will premiere exclusively on Channel 7 and across two big nights this February.
The drama tells the story of one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history. Hundreds of innocent subpostmasters 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 were imprisoned for crimes they never committed, and lives were irreparably damaged.
The cast includes BAFTA award-winning Toby Jones (Empire of Light, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Detectorists) who portrays Alan Bates. Monica Dolan (The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe); Julie Hesmondhalgh (The Pact, The Trouble With Maggie Cole); Alex Jennings (This Is Going to Hurt, The Crown); Ian Hart (The Responder); Lia Williams (The Crown, The Capture); Will Mellor (Coronation Street, No Offence); Clare Calbraith (Grace, Anne); Shaun Dooley (Gentleman Jack, It’s A Sin); Amit Shah (Happy Valley); Lesley Nicol (Downton Abbey); Adam James (The Suspect, Vigil); and Katherine Kelly (Bloods, Gentleman Jack) are also part of the cast.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office is written by acclaimed screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes (Tom Jones, Honour, Vanity Fair) and produced by ITV Studios and Little Gem. The series is directed by James Strong (Broadchurch, Crime, Vigil) and produced by Chris Clough (World On Fire, The Missing). It is executive produced by Patrick Spence (A Spy Among Friends, Adult Material) for ITV Studios, Natasha Bondy, and Ben Gale on behalf of Little Gem (Emily Atack: Asking For It?, Paul Merson: Football, Gambling and Me), James Strong, Gwyneth Hughes and Joe Williams (Litvinenko, Lupin).
Since its debut in the UK on 1 January, 2024, Mr Bates vs The Post Office has been watched by 12.5 million people – ITV’s best new drama in 10 years – but it’s profound cultural and social influence is unprecedented: reigniting the conversation over the Horizon scandal; introducing new hearings and legislations to have convictions quashed; motivating more than 100 potential new victims to come forward; and inspiring a successful online petition to strip Paula Vennells, Post Office CEO at the time, of her CBE.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office
Across two big nights – 8.30pm Wednesday, 14 February and Wednesday, 21 February on Channel 7
