Recounting the British Post Office scandal in all its shocking detail, Mr Bates vs The Post Office created such a groundswell of public disgust that the authorities had no choice but to act to rectify some of the wrongs that had taken place. On Monday, September 9 comes a new documentary to explain the extent of the impact that the original series had.
You can watch Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact for FREE in the UK on the ITVX streaming service. But don't worry if you're on holiday while it's on because you can watch Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact from anywhere with a VPN.
UK: ITVX (free)
US: N/A
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
One of the first big dramas to air on UK TV this year, the show starring the likes of Toby Jones (Detectorists), Monica Dolan (Sherwood) and Will Mellor (Coronation Street) has also been among the most watched, with millions tuning in and streaming on catch up to discover the Kafka-esque hell that sub postmasters and postmistresses found themselves subjected to.
The response was immense, prompting more than a million people to sign a petition demanding that the Post Office's CEO Paula Vennells have her CBE removed. The show put the scandal at the forefront of the national agenda and news cycle, meaning that the UK government had no choice but to act.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact picks up the story, with the one-off documentary exploring what has — and hasn't — been done since the show originally aired. Alan Bates, the titular hero of the drama, will join a host of the real-life people at the heart of the scandal to give a glimpse into what has changed for them since being thrust into the limelight.
Ready to see what happened next in this compelling, distressing tale? Here's how to watch Mr. Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact from anywhere in the world. We've got all the information you need below.
How to watch Mr. Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact in the UK for free
Can I watch Mr. Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact in the US
The original Mr Bates vs the Post Office series eventually aired in the US on PBS a few months after it went out in the UK.
However, as of the date of writing, the follow-up documentary doesn't appear in the PBS schedule.
So if you're a Brit who is currently in the US and wants to watch, you'll need to use a VPN to do so.
How to watch Mr. Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact from anywhere with a VPN
You can watch Mr. Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact on ITVX by using a VPN — no matter where you are in the world.
Normally a streaming service will know where you are trying to tune in from and block you if you're not in the right country but a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an app that hides your location. That means you can access your usual sports and entertainment services even while you're traveling abroad.
Our favorite VPN is NordVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar. There's a helpful guide to the best VPN services on TechRadar if you'd like a deeper read.
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
- Download the app at NordVPN
- Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
- Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
What was the Mr. Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact release date?
Mr. Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact airs on Monday, September 9 in the UK at 9 pm on ITV1 and the ITVX streaming service.
There is no current release date in the US.
All you need to know about Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact
What was the British Post Office scandal?
Described as one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history, hundreds of innocent subpostmasters and postmistresses were 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.
Can I still watch the original Mr Bates vs The Post Office?
There's still time to watch Mr Bates vs The Post Office online; the original series that premiered in the UK in January 2024.
It's on the ITVX streaming service in the UK, on PBS in the US and 7plus platform in Australia. All three are free to view in those respective countries.
What was the impact of Mr Bates vs the Post Office?
It took years for the accused subpostmasters and postmistresses to fight their case and eventually see their convictions overturned. Even before Mr Bates vs The Post Office was aired, a group legal action was eventually awarded £57.75 million in compensation.
The show sparked a massive outcry of the general public, with its millions of viewers demanding additional justice for the victims and for Post Office CEO Paula Vennells to have her CBE honor stripped.
It also saw the case discussed again in UK Parliament, with the speaker of the House of Commons thanking ITV for broadcasting the drama.
In May, Parliament passed legislation to formally quash the convictions that were secured as a result of evidence gathered from the misfunctioning computer software. This also sought to compensate the victims with a £1 billion compensation fund established.
