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Louise Thomas
Editor
Mr Bates vs the Post Office star Will Mellor says he is still “angry” about the Horizon scandal, months after appearing on the show that sparked national outrage and a public inquiry.
The 48-year-old plays sub-postmaster Lee Castleton on the four-part ITV drama series, which detailed the lives of hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses who were wrongly prosecuted for theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system.
After the show’s release in January, the 1999 Horizon scandal was placed back under the spotlight. Shortly after it aired, former prime minister Rishi Sunak announced new legislation that would exonerate those who were wrongfully convicted and provide them with compensation.
“I hardly knew anything about the scandal before I read the script,” Mellor told the BBC, admitting that he had considered quitting the industry the day before he was offered the role.
“Like a lot of people I’d read some things, I’d heard some things – it was about a faulty computer system and didn’t feel like an exciting story.
“But when you see the effect of this and realise how isolated these people were, how they were made to feel like they were the only ones, how innocent people were made to feel like criminals – not only by the Post Office but sometimes by their communities – I think the public really felt it and reacted as a result.”
Mellor is due to speak to victims of the scandal for forthcoming BBC documentary, Surviving the Post Office. They include Stephanie Gibson, who was forced to move home after being erroneously accused, and Thomas and Katie Watson, the children of postmaster Fiona Watson, who did not live to see her name cleared, dying from lymphoma during her investigation.
“The story sits with me all the time and I’m angry every time I talk about it,” Mellor said.
“People lost their lives, people lost their childhoods, their homes, they’ve had time taken from them they can never get back.”
However, the Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps star said he feels “proud” of his role in the programme, and is congratulated every day for his work.
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“I still get it every day – every day somebody stops me and says: ‘Well done on the Post Office’.
“Part of me feels a bit guilty – I was just a small part of this, I’m an actor doing a job and I’m just grateful and privileged to be able to do it.
“But I’m proud I got the opportunity to be part of something positive in this, something that has the potential to give victims of this scandal some hope.”
Earlier this year, Mellor was reunited with Castleton, who he portrays in the programme, during an interview on Good Morning Britain. The former sub-postmaster thanked the star, to which the Coronation Street star responded, “Don’t be daft mate, no, thank you.”
