BAFTA TV Awards: Mr Bates vs The Post Office claims top prize, director thanks the audience for their ‘rage’

Mr Bates vs The Post Office emerged as the big winner of the BAFTA TV Awards overnight in London.

The ITV social drama, which streamed in Australia on 7plus, was recognised as the best limited series, beating out Netflix juggernaut Baby Reindeer in its competitive category.

The four-part series had an enormous impact when it was first broadcast in the UK over consecutive nights in January 2024.

The series was based on the real-life scandal that, over two decades, saw hundreds of sub-postmasters prosecuted for cash shortfalls in local branches that were actually caused by bugs in the accounting software, Horizon, that the post office rolled out in 1999.

The prosecutions destroyed lives – hundreds were convicted and sent to prison, many had to pay the discrepancies out of their own pockets, marriages broke down, community trust was broken, and there were suicides connected to the incidents.

All the while, the post office were aware of the software issues but publicly denied it and continued to prosecute the sub-postmasters. Thousands of people were affected.

The series depicts the story, culminating in the group legal action sub-postmaster Alan Bates and more than 500 others launched against the government, resulting in a £56 milllion settlement.

The accusations against the post office had been reported as early as 2009 – and director James Strong noted Computer Weekly, Private Eye, The Times and the BBC’s journalism in his BAFTA acceptance speech – but Mr Bates vs the Post Office had an immediate impact.

Watched by tens of millions of Britons who weren’t aware of the scandal, it dominated the UK news cycle after its broadcast. Then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced emergency legislation to quash hundreds of wrongful convictions and established a compensation scheme.

Only 93 sub-postmasters had been exonerated at that point and the settlement from the lawsuit was mostly used to cover legal fees.

The former post office chief executive, Paula Vennells, handed back her CBE after more than a million people signed a petition, and the chairman, Henry Staunton, stepped down within the month.

On the BAFTA stage, Strong gave the credit for the impact to the audience.

“The story only had the impact it did because the people who watched it stood up as one and demanded action with such rage that the government had no choice but to respond,” he said. “Our show didn’t change the law, the people of this nation did that, and they’ve shown in their response to Post Office that we cannot abide liars and bullies.

“May it be a warning to those who are supposed to have our backs that they had better not abuse that power.

“We would like to put on the record that being trusted by the sub-postmasters to tell their story has been the greatest privilege of our lives.”

In a similar vein to Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Australia’s Lingo Pictures is developing a drama based on the robodebt scandal.

Elsewhere at the BAFTAs, police drama Blue Lights, which depicts the challenges of policing in Belfast, won drama series while the scripted comedy award went to Alma’s Not Normal.

In the acting races, Baby Reindeer’s Jessica Gunning added to her trophy haul with the award for supporting actress. She is thought to be the only actor who have won the BAFTA, Emmy, SAG individual accolade and the Golden Globe for the same performance in the same season of a show.

Lead actress went to Marisa Abela for her role in the BBC Two and HBO series Industry, which follows a group of young finance workers in the cut-throat industry.

Lead actor went to Lennie James for Mr Loverman, an adaptation of a Bernadine Evaristo novel about a man whose decades-long marriage collapses after it’s discovered he’s been having an affair with his male best friend. Ariyon Bakare won the BAFTA for supporting actor for the same project.

American series Shogun won the international series award, which beat out Australian comedy Colin From Accounts and New Zealand drama After the Party.

Drama series – Blue Lights

Limited drama – Mr Bates vs The Post Office

International – Shogun

Lead actress – Marisa Abela, Industry

Lead actor – Lennie James, Mr Loverman

Female performance in a comedy – Ruth Jones, Gavin & Stacey

Male performance in a comedy – Danny Dyer, Mr Bigstuff

Supporting actress – Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer

Supporting actor – Ariyon Bakare, Mr Loverman

Scripted comedy – Alma’s Not Normal

Entertainment – Would I Lie to You?

Entertainment performance – Joe Lycett, Late Night Lycett

Factual entertainment – Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour

Factual series – To Catch a Copper

Reality – The Jury: Murder Trial

News coverage – BBC Breakfast: Post Office Special

Single documentary – Ukraine: Enemy in the Woods

Current affairs – State of Rage

Daytime – Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure

Soap – Eastenders

Sport – Paris 2024 Oympics

Live event coverage – Glastonbury 2024

Specialist factual – Atomic People

Children’s scripted – Cbeebies As You Like It at Shakespeare’s Globe

Children’s non-scripted – FYI Investigates: Disability and Me

Shortform – Quiet Life