Mr Bates Vs The Post Office to get NTA Impact Award for ‘huge cultural shift’

ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office is to receive the National Television Awards (NTA) Impact Award for creating a “huge cultural shift”.

Toby Jones, Monica Dolan and other cast members are to collect the award on Wednesday September 11 after the four-part series was credited for getting “politicians talking and changed legislation”.

The show drew renewed public attention to the subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted during the Horizon IT scandal.

More than 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office and given criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015, as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon IT system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.

Joel Dommett, who will host the awards, said: “It’s not often that a drama comes along and creates a huge cultural shift.

“The fact that Mr Bates Vs The Post office got politicians talking and changed legislation is huge.

“It’s a reminder of the power of television. Every now and then a programme comes along and reminds you how important it is that these shows exist.”

The show has also been shortlisted in the NTA new drama category while Jones has been shortlisted in the drama performance category for his role as Sir Alan Bates.

Mr Bates Vs The Post Office will face stiff competition in the drama category from Netflix hit Baby Reindeer, romantic drama One Day and thrillers Fool Me Once and Red Eye.

Jones will go up against Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning, Fool Me Once star Michelle Keegan, Brenda Blethyn for her role in Vera, and Vicky McClure for her performance in crime drama Trigger Point.

It comes after the show picked up two gongs at the Edinburgh TV Awards, with one going to Dolan for best actress and another seeing the show being named best drama.