New ITV series Mr Bates vs The Post Office begins on ITV in January 2024.

The four-part drama series stars Toby Jones (Captain America: The First Avenger and The Hunger Games) and Julie Hesmondhalgh (Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street) along with a host of other well known actors and actresses.

Mr Bates vs The Post Office tells the story of Alan Bates (Jones) as he and other sub-postmasters and postmistresses fight to clear their name after being wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system.

Here is all you need to know about the new ITV series ahead of its release in January 2024.

The National: Mr Bates vs The Post Office is a new four-part drama series coming to ITV.Mr Bates vs The Post Office is a new four-part drama series coming to ITV. (Image: ITV)

What is Mr Bates vs The Post Office about?

Mr Bates vs The Post Office is about "the greatest miscarriage of justice in British legal history", according to ITV. 

Summarising the new TV drama, ITV said: "For over a decade, the Post Office wrongly accused, harassed, and prosecuted hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters for theft, fraud, and false accounting due to Horizon, a defective IT system. 

"This is the real life story of their ten-year battle to prove their innocence culminating in a High Court trial, and paving the way for more than eighty wrongful convictions to be overturned."

Mr Bates vs The Post Office cast

The cast for Mr Bates vs The Post Office on ITV will include:

  • Alan Bates - Toby Jones (Captain America: The First Avenger and The Hunger Games)
  • Suzanne Sercombe - Julie Hesmondhalgh (Coronation Street)
  • Jo Hamilton - Monica Dolan (Black Mirror and The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe)
  • Paula Vennells - Lia Williams (The Crown and His Dark Materials)
  • James Arbuthnot - Alex Jennings (This is Going to Hurt and The Crown)
  • Lee Castleton - Will Mellor (Coronation Stree and Broadchurch)
  • Michael Rudkin - Shaun Dooley (The Witcher and Black Mirror)
  • Bob Rutherford - Ian Hart (The Last Kingdom)
  • Jasgun Singh - Amit Shah (Happy Valley)
  • Saman Kaur - Krupa Pattani (Hollyoaks and Ron's Gone Wrong)
  • Angela Van den Bogerd - Katherine Kelly (Happy Valley and Mr Selfridge)
  • Kay Linnell - Isobel Middleton (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Emmerdale)
  • Gina Griffiths - Clare Calbraith (Downton Abbey and Doctors)
  • Martin Griffiths - Colin Tierney (DCI Banks and The Bill)
  • Mr Justice Fraser - Pip Torrens (Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens and The Crown)
  • Lisa Castleton - Amy Nuttall (Emmerdaler and Downton Abbey)
  • Noel Thomas - Ifan Huw Dafydd (The Light in the Hall and Fireman Sam)
  • Pam Stubbs - Lesley Nicol (Downton Abbey)
  • James Hartley - John Hollingworth (Napoleon, 1917 and The Full Monty)
  • Patrick Green QC- Adam James (The Suspect and Vigil)

When is Mr Bates vs The Post Office on TV?

The first of four episodes of Mr Bates vs The Post Office will air on ITV1 and ITVX on Monday, January 1 at 9pm. 

The next three episodes will air at the same time on the three nights following - January 2 to 4.