Toby Jones has paid tribute to the “extraordinary” people who fought for justice for subpostmasters wronged by the Horizon scandal, as the actor won big at the National Television Awards. The 58-year-old played the eponymous lead in ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, which won him ‘best drama performance’ and the show ‘best new drama’.
In picking up his NTA, Jones said: “This means an awful lot, not just to me but to the extraordinary people who inspired our show, some of whom are in the audience this evening.” The show also received the impact award for getting “politicians talking and changed legislation”.
Former subpostmaster Jo Hamilton agreed, saying on stage alongside other scandal victims that “nothing has changed” as she accepted the impact award. “I went to Westminster a couple of weeks back and saw the new minister and, trust me, nothing has changed. Almost all of these people behind me haven't been paid yet. And, out of the group of 555, more than 300 haven't been paid yet.”
The subpostmasters gathered on stage in tearful scenes, giving the actors heartfelt hugs in recognition of their bravery. The awards have been a satisfying way to wrap up the Post Office narrative, with viewers praising the power of television to correct a huge wrong.
In 1999, the Post Office introduced the Horizon IT system, intended to modernise the organisation. Instead, the faulty system incorrectly exhibited shortfalls of cash, blamed on sub-postmasters, leading to 20 years of legal disputes, hundreds of wrongful convictions and destroyed lives. The ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office aired earlier this year, telling the complex story.
