How small talk, a bike rack and dogged work brought Mr Bates vs the Post Office to the TV screen

Toby Jones as Alan Bates in Mr Bates vs the Post Office, Photograph: ITV

Alan Bates’s campaign against the Post Office over the Horizon scandal might never have got off the ground without a few moments of luck and the availability of Fenny Compton village hall in Warwickshire.

But the journey to bring the story on to ITV for New Year as Mr Bates vs the Post Office was equally precarious and relied on a webinar, a bike rack and plenty more village halls.