Mr Bates vs The Post Office: Release date and latest news
Toby Jones stars in the new ITV drama based on a real-life scandal.
ITV’s latest four-part series has landed and gripped viewers with its chilling true story.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office explores the British Post Office scandal, which saw hundreds of subpostmasters falsely accused of theft, fraud and false accounting following an IT malfunction.
The drama explores the first financial discrepancies, the devastating impact of the scandal on the accused and their loved ones, and their fight for justice.
A star-studded cast has been assembled to tell the tale, with the likes of The Long Shadow's Toby Jones, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Monica Dolan, Lia Williams, Katherine Kelly, Alex Jennings and Will Mellor playing the real-life figures caught up in the claims.
Read on for everything you need to know about Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office release date
The first episode of Mr Bates vs The Post Office aired on ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm on Monday 1st January 2024.
New episodes are set to air at 9pm each night, with the final episode airing at 9pm on Thursday 4th January 2024.
How many episodes of Mr Bates vs The Post Office are there?
There are four hour-long episodes of the show.
These will air across four consecutive nights until Thursday 4th January 2024.
What is Mr Bates vs The Post Office about?
The series is based on the real-life British Post Office scandal in the late 1990s, when hundreds of subpostmasters and mistresses working up and down the UK were falsely accused of theft, fraud and false accounting by their employer following an IT malfunction.
The official synopsis for the series says: "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 were imprisoned for crimes they never committed, and their lives were irreparably damaged by the scandal."
Who stars in Mr Bates vs The Post Office alongside Toby Jones and Monica Dolan?
The ITV drama features many famous faces, including Toby Jones (The Long Shadow), Julie Hesmondhalgh (Broadchurch), Monica Dolan (Black Mirror) and Alex Jennings (Unforgotten), among many others.
Here's a full list of the stars appearing in the four-part series:
- Toby Jones as Alan Bates
- Julie Hesmondhalgh as Suzanne Sercombe
- Monica Dolan as Jo Hamilton
- Lia Williams as Paula Vennells
- Alex Jennings as James Arbuthnot
- Will Mellor as Lee Castleton
- Shaun Dooley as Michael Rudkin
- Ian Hart as Bob Rutherford
- Amit Shah as Jasgun Singh
- Krupa Pattani as Saman Kaur
- Katherine Kelly as Angela Van den Bogerd
- Isobel Middleton as Kay Linnell
- Clare Calbraith as Gina Griffiths
- Colin Tierney as Martin Griffiths
- Pip Torrens as Mr Justice Fraser
- Amy Nuttall as Lisa Castleton
- Ifan Huw Dafydd as Noel Thomas
- Lesley Nicol as Pam Stubbs
- John Hollingworth as James Hartley
- Adam James as Patrick Green QC
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office trailer
You can watch the trailer for Mr Bates vs The Post Office right here:
Read more:
- What happened to Paula Vennells from Mr Bates vs The Post Office?
- What happened to Alan Bates from Mr Bates vs The Post Office?
- Mr Bates vs The Post Office star on how legal risks impacted script
Mr Bates vs The Post Office began on 1st January at 9pm on ITV and ITVX. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
