Yahoo News Mr Bates vs Post Office’s Monica Dolan wipes away tears as she joins real-life woman she plays
Monica Dolan was joined by Jo Hamilton on Good Morning Britain
What did you miss?
Mr Bates vs Post Office's Monica Dolan was visibly upset as she sat beside real-life subpostmaster Jo Hamilton who she plays in the drama. She said: "I'm probably more emotional because Jo is sat with me."
They were reunited on the Good Morning Britain sofa on Friday to discuss the hotly-anticipated drama based on real life events where hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a faulty IT system. It is one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British legal history and now has been turned into an ITV drama.
What, how and why?
As soon as the interview was about to begin, it got almost too emotional for the actor who was tearful after watching a clip from the drama while sat alongside the real-life woman she plays. This touching moment wasn't lost on the TV hosts Ranvir Singh and Richard Madeley.
In a comforting way, Singh addressed how emotional it had been for Dolan who looked visibly upset. The TV host said: "And Monica, since you've sat down you've rubbed your eyes a few times. You find it emotional don't you, watching - having played the role."
Dolan revealed she was made more emotional as she watched back the clip alongside Hamilton she played. She responded: "Yeah, I'm probably more emotional now because Jo is sat with me now. But yes, that's something that we all had to stay on top of. You can't just be angry all the time if you are playing someone. You have to be in that situation."
Sadly Jo Hamilton was wrongly accused of stealing £36,000 from her Post Office branch. In 2008, she pleaded guilty to false accounting because she feared prison.
What else happened on Good Morning Britain?
Jo Hamilton was wrongly accused of stealing £36,000 from her Post Office branch and she pleaded guilty to false accounting in 2008 out of fear of imprisonment.
She is being played by Monica Dolan in a dramatic retelling of The Post Office scandal. pic.twitter.com/C1B5gJhW4y— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) December 29, 2023
Elsewhere in the interview, Madeley asked Hamilton why did she plead guilty to false accounting? While he said he knew why, he said he wanted to get to the bottom of it for the viewers at home. Hamilton spoke openly about why she pleaded guilty. She said: "They only ever charged me with theft in the beginning and we got right to the trial. They said, 'Well if you plead guilty to false accounting, we will drop the theft.'"
She added: "I knew I hadn't stolen anything so I pleaded not guilty. But when they said false accounting, I thought technically I had because I gave up phoning the help desk but every time I phoned them they said I had to make the money good."
Madeley was horrified and he said: "You were that brow beaten." Hamilton nodded her head and agreed. She further explained her lawyer couldn't explain what had happened. She added: "But technically I had, by pressing the button and rolling into the next week. I had committed false accounting."
Completely shocked, Madeley had plenty of sympathy for the interviewee. "You poor woman," he said.
Mr Bates vs Post Office airs on 1 January 2024 on ITV1.
