Monica Dolan received the Radio Times Screen Test Empathy Award for Drama for her portrayal of real-life subpostmistress Jo Hamilton, whose story moved viewers in ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

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Dolan's performance, alongside Toby Jones as Alan Bates and others, has seen the drama become one of the most talked about shows of the year, and the conversation certainly won't be slowing down.

The Empathy Award for Drama, which saw Dolan in the shortlist alongside the likes of Martin Freeman (Chris Carson, The Responder), Nicola Coughlan (Penelope Featherington, Bridgerton), Joanne Froggatt (Dr Abbey Henderson, Breathtaking) and Harvey Keitel/Jonah Hauer-King (Lali Sokolov, The Tattooist of Auschwitz), was all about the characters who touched viewers, inspired them and moved them to walk in another person's shoes.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com after her win, Dolan expressed that the award is "extremely special because it's not just a performance award".

Monica Dolan and Jo Hamilton. They are stood next to each other and are smiling.
Monica Dolan and Jo Hamilton. ITV Studios/ITV

She continued: "Obviously, it's wonderful to win for any performance, but it's to do with a feeling that you inspire in other people, and that's the only way that you can change people, by making them feel differently.

"Or [to] activate people, I suppose, and empathy is just as much as you can hope to achieve in the job. So I'm really delighted."

It wasn't just Dolan who took home an award for her work in Mr Bates vs The Post Office, with the series itself winning the Watercooler Award, which encapsulated television that "stops us in our tracks and gets us all talking".

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The Great Post Office Trial also won the Trust Award for Audio, which focused on the shows that listeners "count on the most".

Other winners on the night included Ghosts, Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing and The Bear.

You can find the full list of winners here.

Mr Bates vs The Post Office is available to watch on ITVX.

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Authors

Katelyn MensahEntertainment and Factual Writer

Katelyn Mensah is the Entertainment and Factual Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.

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