Mr Bates Vs the Post Office brings Carol Vorderman to 'tears'

Mr Bates Vs the Post Office has provoked widespread conversation amongst viewers, including Carol Vorderman, with its depiction of the real life Post Office scandal.

The ITV drama premiered on New Year's Day, and is airing over the course of four nights, and the first episode left its audience outraged at the events of the early 2000s, with Vorderman admitting she was "brought to tears" by it.

Read more: Mr Bates Vs the Post Office review: ITV delivers a riveting drama

The scandal saw several sub-postmasters being accused of fraud, theft and false accounting after errors with a technical system called Horizon led to financial amounts changing or sudden losses occurring. It was the sub-postmasters who were blamed for the fault, though, with some even facing jail time for it.

Former sub-postmaster Alan Bates led the charge against the Post Office, and the sub-postmasters' quest for justice is explored in the drama. Viewers similarly called for justice for those affected by the scandal after watching the show's first episode.

Read more: Monica Dolan wipes away tears as she joins real-life woman she plays in Mr Bates vs Post Office

Vorderman hailed Bates for the work he has done to help his fellow sub-postmasters, writing to her followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the show "has brought me to tears", adding: "Alan Bates....not all heros wear capes Alan won a @PrideOfBritain award in October....a total honour to meet him. His quiet courage is extraordinary."

Viewers of the show were equally as moved by the show, with one person speaking of the real life victims of the scandal when they wrote: "#MrBatesVsThePostOffice, excellent new drama starring Toby Jones on #itv1 9pm tonight exposing the merciless prosecution of innocent subpostmasters. I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping that those responsible for inflicting this misery are themselves brought to justice."

Another member of the audience felt passionately about the series, and wrote after watching the show: "Furious. Livid. Outraged. Fuming. The Post Office, the auditors, Horizon and ultimately Fujitsu. Where was the rigorous testing and the due diligence? Shame on all of you!"

One viewer called Mr Bates Vs the Post Office "exceptional TV" as they said on social media: "How is it possible that such an injustice at this nationwide scale could happen? The Post Office is a disgrace."

In a similarly angry response, one person wrote of the ITV seres: "I'm only on the 2nd part of the first episode of #MrBatesVsThePostOffice and already my blood is boiling! And to think some people actually killed themselves and today some people haven't been compensated is outrageous! @PostOffice should hang their heads in shame!!!"

While many called out the injustice of the real life scandal, one viewer took the opportunity to commend those that helped bring the story to life in the drama by writing: "That was superb. Fantastic cast and direction and Congratulations, Gwyneth Hughes, brilliantly written."

Mr Bates Vs the Post Office stars Toby Jones, Monica Dolan, and Will Mellor and recounts the legal battle that sub-postmasters went through against the Post Office. The four-part series is being released over consecutive nights on ITV1.

Mr Bates Vs the Post Office continues at 9pm on ITV1 through to Thursday, 4 January.

Watch the trailer for Mr Bates Vs the Post Office: