Will Mellor portrays Lee Castleton in the series, a subpostmaster from Yorkshire who was taken to court by the Post Office for missing funds, which led to him having to declare himself bankrupt.
"There is more that needs to happen," Mellor told RadioTimes.com. "They do get something, it's not like they get nothing, but there is more that can be done. We have to hold people accountable for what they've done. And they're pushing for more. They're still fighting.
"How they [the Post Office] slept at night, I don't know. It's just unbelievable, a massive company like that. And the power of the Post Office, which I didn't know until I did this, is they don't need the police. They have their own policing system.
"That shows you that they stand on their own and that's why they are as powerful as they are, why they got away with what they did.
"Even watching it, I still shake my head going, 'I can't believe this is happening,' and I'm in it."
Speaking of his character, Mellor notes that his journey begins "angry".
"'I'm going to fight this, it will be all right, I'll just tell the truth, I believe in the British justice system,'" he explained.
"You go from that to when he literally loses everything, and he's a broken man, he breaks down and he's apologising for something he hasn't done, and then the days are hard."
Mellor explained that he has played emotional characters in the past, but there was something different when it came to Castleton because "this is a real person, so it lands ever harder".
In 2020, Tim Parker, then-chairman of the Post Office, said he was "sincerely sorry" on behalf of the company for its "historical failings".
"Post Office is resetting its relationship with postmasters with reforms that prevent such past events ever happening again," he added.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office is available to watch on ITVX. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guideto find out what's on.
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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.
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
