Here's everything you need to know about the real story behind Mr Bates vs The Post Office, including how to watch the incredible new series about a real miscarriage of justice in British history.
On Monday, January 1st, 2024, ITV released a brand new dramatisation about a real-life scandal titled, Mr Bates vs. The Post Office. The show began airing on ITV1 at 9pm and viewers were horrified to learn about the mistreatment and injustices faced by the innocent subpostmasters in the British Post Office scandal. Here's what you need to know about the series that has hooked viewers...
How many episodes are there of Mr Bates vs. The Post Office?
There are four episodes of Mr Bates vs The Post Office that will air from January 1st to 4th. All four episodes have currently been released on ITVX online, so if viewers want to watch the show all at once, they can log into the streaming platform and view all episodes.
How to watch Mr Bates vs. The Post Office
The show has only been released in the UK so if you’re a citizen of the UK on holiday or working overseas, you can still watch Mr Bates vs The Post Office on ITVX, using a VPN. This is a handy bit of software that changes your IP address so that you can access on-demand content or live TV just as if you were at home.
Our sister site, TechRadar, has tested all of the major VPN services and they rate ExpressVPN as the absolute best. They say, “It’s compatible with all of your devices, supports most streaming services, and ranks among the fastest. You can even install it on devices like an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, and PlayStation. So for a one-stop-shop, you can’t go wrong with Express.”
What happened to Mr Bates vs. The Post Office in real life?
In real life, The British Post Office Scandal dragged on for several years as people blamed the Post Office of a 'corporate cover-up.'
As recently as September 2023, it was revealed that another form of compensation was given to the victims. "The UK Government has announced that every Postmaster who was wrongfully convicted and has had their conviction overturned as it was reliant on Horizon evidence will be offered £600,000 in compensation," it was announced.
From 1999 to 2015 more than 2,600 individuals were affected by the Horizon scandal. In total, 93 convictions have been overturned, with people being exonerated of their false crimes. Additionally, £21 million has been paid in compensation to those who suffered because of the Horizon machines.
ITVX also released a documentary titled, Mr Bates vs the Post Office: The Real Story, which includes interviews with real-life victims who told their own stories. The additional show includes clips from the dramatisation along with snippets from real-life events that played out in the news.
