ITV has commissioned Mr bates vs The Post Office producer Little Gem to produce brand new film, Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact [WT], which will reveal how the ITV drama series has affected the lives of the subpostmasters it featured and provide an insight into the ongoing struggle for justice and financial redress.
The documentary will feature Ja number of the subpostmasters we met in the hit drama, including leading figure and Llandudno’s Scouse postmaster Alan Bates who led the fightback against the corporate monolith, as well as subpostmasters who have come forward in the aftermath of the drama series.
Telling their stories on television for the first time, some say that without the public’s overwhelmingly positive reaction to the drama, they would not have had the courage to talk openly about their involvement in the scandal and how it affected them.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact will also focus on shocking moments from the Judge-led Inquiry: Testimony from Paula Vennells, Angela van den Bogerd and Post Office investigators, who were described by subpostmasters as behaving like “mafia gangsters.”
The film will also provide an insight into new developments and layers of intrigue that add further dimensions to a scandal that is still ongoing even following the broadcast of the drama and the subsequent torrent of news coverage.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact is commissioned for ITV by Jo Clinton-Davis, ITV Controller of Factual.
She said: “The Post Office scandal became a genuine national talking point at the start of this year, striking at the heart of the public’s sense of justice. The reverberations have been felt ever since at a political level, but particularly in the lives of those directly affected. This film promises to tell the story of what has happened since in their lives, how their fight continues as well as illuminating new layers of this scandal.”
For Little Gem, the Producer/Director is Clare Richards and the Executive Producers are Natasha Bondy and Ben Gale.
Bondy said: “The public’s response to Mr Bates was extraordinary and had a hugely positive impact on subpostmasters. We’re delighted we can explore how far-reaching that impact has been, while still showing that the fight for financial redress is far from over.”
