Star Will fumes at ‘injustice’ after Horizon drama role
WILL Mellor has said he was left ‘fuming’ portraying one of the Post Office scandal victims and has demanded action following the conclusion of a four-part ITV drama.
The actor has portrayed Lee Castleton in Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
The new series features Toby Jones as the titular Mr Bates and tells the story of the Post Office scandal and the formation of the campaign group Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, led by Alan Bates and his colleagues.
The real-life miscarriages of justice saw more than 700 innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses - the people who run post office branches - wrongly accused of theft, fraud, and false accounting due to a defective IT system.
Many of the wronged workers were prosecuted and some were imprisoned for crimes they never committed.
Their lives were irreparably damaged by the scandal.
Alan Bates worked at a post office in Llandudno at the time and although he was never accused of theft like many others, he was dismissed from his job after raising concerns about the Horizon system.
For 20 years, he’s campaigned for people to hear the truth about what happened.
After appearing in the drama, which aired from January 1 to January 4 on ITV, Will asked how those responsible can live with themselves, adding it was “vile” that ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells got a CBE - with a petition now calling for her to be stripped of the honour.
The 47-year-old told the Mirror: “Even when I thought I knew what this was about, I still didn’t until we started shooting.
“I was angry, I was fuming.
“I was like, ‘How can they sleep at night, knowing they’re doing this to people - and they’re innocent?’
“Lee thought, ‘Oh, I’ll just tell the truth in court,’ and ended up having more debt.
“All I can say is, to anybody watching, you’ll have to keep reminding yourself it is a true story. It’s that shocking.”
The Coronation Street star now wants action for all those still waiting for compensation.
He said: “You can’t just lie to people and to the courts. There’s some sort of criminal element there.
“I hope people are brought to account. I think it’s important for people to know because it is one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history.
“Let’s get behind these people. Let’s give these people justice.
“Let’s give them a bigger voice and hold people accountable for what happened to them.”
Meanwhile, former Corrie star Julie Hesmondhalgh, who portrays Suzanne Sercombe, Alan’s partner, in the series, has been speaking out on social media following the response to the series.
She started by saying on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Completely overwhelmed by the response to #MrBatesVsThePostOffice and the outpouring of outrage over the scandal and cover up.
“It’s more than any of us dared hope that it would move the campaign along, but sometimes drama can do that.
“And now: JUSTICE for the thousands affected.”
She has since added: “For those asking “what can we do now?” The wonderful Alan Bates is asking people to write to their MP calling for compensation for the victims #MrBatesVs ThePostOffice.”