‘Mr Bates vs the Post Office’ breaks viewing records in UK

Mr Bates vs the Post Office has given an ITV1 an amazing first week of 2024!

Telling the story of one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history, the four-part drama series premiered on New Year’s day.

The show has been has been the talk of the country since it debuted, with front-page headlines about the story on national newspapers and discussions in Parliament.

It’s no huge surprise then to report that the UK ratings for Mr Bates vs the Post Office have been absolutely huge.

The first episode has already been watched by an incredible 9.2m people, becoming ITV’s best new drama since lockdown hit The Pembrokeshire Murders aired back in January 2021.

The four episodes are the most watched programmes on any channel so far this year, with the series and the accompanying documentary reaching 14.8m viewers.

These numbers are staggering in this day and age, where the audience share for the UK’s main channels has fallen significantly over the past decade due to heavy competition from streamers like Disney+ and Netflix, while younger users watch their content on YouTube and social media.

“The unwavering success of Mr Bates vs the Post Office demonstrates the undeniable power of TV, particularly public service broadcasting,” commented ITV’s Managing Director of Media & Entertainment, Kevin Lygo.

“Aside from it being a ratings hit, dramatising the story with such a high calibre of British actors has reignited the campaign for justice nearly 25 years on, for a group of ordinary people – and the entire nation is behind them,” he added.

Starring Toby Jones from Detectorists and Empire of Light as the titular Mr Bates, the mini-series dramatises one of the most shocking cases of misjustice to emerge in the UK in recent years.

“Hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft, fraud, and false accounting due to a defective IT system,” explains the official synopsis.

“Many of the wronged workers were prosecuted, some were imprisoned for crimes they never committed, and their lives were irreparably damaged by the scandal.”

The cast also includes Lesley Nicol from Downton Abbey, alongside Shaun Dooley (Gentleman Jack), Monica Dolan (The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe), Julie Hesmondhalgh (The Pact), Alex Jennings (Victoria), Ian Hart (The Responder), Lia Williams (The Crown), Will Mellor (Coronation Street), Clare Calbraith (Grace), Amit Shah (Happy Valley), Adam James (Vigil), and Katherine Kelly (Gentleman Jack).

Mr Bates vs the Post Office has given ITV1 its best start to the year for over than a decade with a share of 18.4% for the first week of 2024.

“We commissioned this drama because it was a story that demanded to be told,” said ITV’s Head of Drama, Polly Hill.

“Like everyone watching the show, I couldn’t believe what had happened. We all just wanted the drama to help get that story heard by as many people as we could.

“We are all proud and overwhelmed by the power our drama has had. Alan, Jo, Lee, Jess and every sub-postmaster and sub-postmistress are being heard now, and it looks like they will finally get the justice they deserve. ITV is proud to have told this story and to support the subpostmasters.”

If you missed the show on ITV1 last week, all four episodes are streaming in the UK on ITVX.

Mr Bates vs the Post Office has already been streamed 12.3m times on ITV’s streaming service in just eight days!

We’re not yet sure when or where the show will arrive in the US, but we expect the series will end up on BritBox in the coming months.

In the meantime, we could be seeing actress Lesley Nicol back as the legendary Mrs Patmore if the rumoured seventh season of Downton Abbey becomes a reality!

The complete Downton Abbey box set is available on DVD on Amazon.