Details

Mr Bates vs. The Post Office 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 their lives were irreparably damaged 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 20 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.

Between 2000 and 2015, the Post Office held thousands of its own sub postmasters and postmistresses liable for financial discrepancies thrown up by Horizon, its hugely expensive but unreliable computerised accounting system. Despite warnings that the system was flawed, the Post Office relentlessly pursued the sub postmasters and postmistresses, telling many of them they were the only ones having problems with Horizon.

Of those affected by the faulty IT system, 736 were prosecuted, hundreds more lost livelihoods, homes, and life savings because they paid back money the Post Office claimed was missing. Several went to prison, some while pregnant or with young children, and many were shunned by their communities. Some have since died before they could find any justice.

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.

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).

Mr Bates vs. The Post Office is released on DVD 19th February 2024 from ITV Studios Home Entertainment