Search Results

By Heather Fallon, Maya Marie | 9 January 2024 The impact of the series highlights the importance of continuing to make such dramas, ITV’s Polly Hill says Writer of ITV four-parter Mr Bates vs. The Post Office Gwyneth Hughes was preparing for her real- life series to “take some time to find its audience” when it launched in the highly competitive New Year’s Day slot, rivalling the second series launch of BBC1’s The Tourist. Instead, Hughes says she was left “flabbergasted” as the ITV Studios and Little Gem co-pro toppled the Jamie Dornan-led drama’s second outing, opening to 3.6m (22.7%) overnight and has more than doubled that figure since, currently sitting at approximately 9m after just a week. The four-part series has gone on to generate a national outcry for justice, leading headlines and prompting urgent government action.

By Stephen Price | 19 January 2024 Series finale is the first drama episode to reach eight figures since Happy Valley This year got off to a bit of a bang, with the government, the Post Office and Fujitsu all nervously tugging at their collars, mostly because of one of the biggest TV dramas in recent times. While Mr Bates vs The Post Office had some pre-TX viewing, it was mostly watched on TV as it unfolded. Hats off to writer Gwyneth Hughes for humanising a story that has been reported on for years but never quite prodded the powers that be to take much notice. Mr Bates vs The Post Office launched on ITV1 on New Year’s Day at 9pm and played over four consecutive nights. The series opened with 3.6 million/26% in overnights, rising to 3.7 million/26% for the 4 January finale and averaging 3.5 million/23%. After seven-day catch, that average more than doubled to 8.2 million/35%. With devices (252,000) and pre-TX (800,000), it reached a huge 9.4 million.

From the Post Office scandal to nuclear attack: 13 TV shows that shook Britain Mr Bates vs the Post Office has caused shockwaves in Westminster. Is it the most influential TV drama ever? We weigh the contenders, from Cathy Come Home to Queer As Folk to Who Bombed Birmingham? Governments have always been terrified of television. Since the medium began in the UK in 1936, numerous laws have dictated how many hours of programming can be broadcast when and what they should contain. Officially, this strict regulation protected viewers from brain-rot, moral corruption or distraction from professional and family duties. But there has always been much concern, too, that TV might illuminate the more shadowy and embarrassing actions of the state. In the way that had always been feared, the small screen swept a blinding light through Westminster this week, ITV’s drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office leaving ministers scrambling to introduce rapid legislation to exonerate and pay compensation to more than 700 UK sub-postmasters. They were wrongly accused of fraud and theft between 1999 and 2015, due to faulty accounting software imposed by the Post Office that led to multiple bankruptcies, divorces, breakdowns and contributed to deaths. Such a vast reversal would usually result only from a court verdict and, even then, with delays for appeals and ministerial quibbling. In this case, justice seems likely to come within weeks of transmission. That would make Mr Bates vs the Post Office the most socially effective programme in British TV’s 88-year history. Mark Lawson The Guardian Tue 9 Jan 2024 17.01 GMT

Emily Atack will investigate whether enough is being done to protect young women and girls against online sexual harassment in a BBC2 doc produced by Little Gem. In Emily Atack: Sexual Harassment & Me (w/t) Atack continues the debate she brought to parliament in February to try and make cyber-flashing – the sending of obscene pictures to strangers online - illegal. She will ask why she has been harassed online from a very young age, sharing her DMs, and opening up to her family for the first time. She will also try to understand the psychology behind this behaviour and try to speak with some of the men who send sexually explicit content. The 60-minute doc was commissioned by head of commissioning, factual entertainment and events, Catherine Catton, with commissioning editor Max Gogarty. The exec producers at Wedding Valley indie Little Gem are Damian Kavanagh and Claire Hughes and the director is Alana McVerry. “Over the last two and a half years I’ve been speaking out about my own personal experiences of online sexual harassment,” said Atack. “Within that time, one thing has become clear, I’m not alone. With this documentary, I am hoping to find answers to the many questions I’ve been asking myself my entire life, and I hope it will go on to help thousands of others too.” Catton said: “It’s an incredibly brave undertaking for [Atack] and we appreciate her honesty and openness. We have no doubt that the film will contribute to a very important conversation.” Little Gem produced last year’s BBC1 doc Paul Merson: Football, Gambling and Me in which the former England and Arsenal footballer Paul Merson opened up about his gambling problem. Atack will also feature alongside Ruby Wax and Melanie Brown in BBC2 travelogue Trailblazers, in which they re-trace the footsteps of explorer Isabella Bird in the Rocky Mountains. Read Broadcast article SEX PEST HELL I’ve been sexually harassed online daily from a young age by pests – now I’m going to find out why, says Emily Atack View full article by The Sun

The Post Office scandal is to be explored in a four-part ITV drama from Patrick Spence and Little Gem. People vs Post Office will be penned by Gwyneth Hughes (Honour) and examine the miscarriage of justice in which dozens of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to the Post Office’s defective IT system. Some were imprisoned for crimes that they did not commit. The 4 x 60-minute series is being produced by Fortitude executive Patrick Spence, who joined ITV Studios in 2019, with Little Gem, which is responsible for an unscripted slate including BBC1’s Surviving The Virus and Sky Atlantic’s This Is Our Family. In a joint statement with Spence, Little Gem creative director Natasha Bondy said: “Being trusted with telling this story is a huge honour for the whole production team. We are going to ensure the biggest possible audience get to hear how much the sub-postmasters suffered, how hard they had to fight for justice and how determined they are that the fight is not yet over.” Hughes said that she has been talking to those affected for some time. “I find it just astonishing, and deeply troubling, that this could have happened in my country, and I confess it’s shaken my confidence in British justice,” she added. People vs. Post Office has been commissioned by ITV’s head of drama, Polly Hill, who will oversee production on behalf of the channel. Filming will take place in early 2022 with transmission expected later that year. ITV Studios will handle international distribution. Broadcast article here People vs Post Office: ITV will produce drama about sub-postmasters scandal that saw 39 innocent people falsely branded criminals due to an IT glitch Full Daily Mail article here .

ITV has commissioned Little Gem to produce a 1 x 60 documentary, ‘People vs Post Office: The Real Story’ (w/t) that will accompany the four-part drama Little Gem is co-producing with ITV Studios to be broadcast next year. The film has exclusive access to Alan Bates, the man who has campaigned tirelessly for nearly twenty years to expose a scandal that is now described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history. Alan’s deal was negotiated by Luke Speed of the Curtis Brown Group. Read full Televisual article here Read ITV press centre article here ITV has commissioned a companion doc for its upcoming drama: People vs Post Office. The hour-long single will be produced by Little Gem, which is co-producing the drama with Patrick Spence at ITV Studios. The film People vs Post Office: The Real Story (w/t) has exclusive access to Alan Bates, who campaigned for almost twenty years to expose the scandal now described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history. Over 14 years, Post Office accused hundreds of sub-postmasters of theft, with some going to prison and others losing their livelihoods. Bates refused to believe the accounting errors were his and began a campaign uniting hundreds of other affected sub-postmasters. Natasha Bondy and Ben Gale serve as exec producers for Little Gem. The deal with Bates was negotiated by Luke Speed from the Curtis Brown Group. The documentary was ordered by ITV’s controller of factual Jo Clinton-Davis and head of factual entertainment Sue Murphy. “Giving voice to the people who sacrificed so much to campaign for justice and expose a scandal at the heart of one of the UK’s most familiar institutions, this film promises to be an eye-opening, insightful and compelling companion piece to the new ITV drama,” Clinton-Davis said. ITV has previously aired documentaries following true crime series, including Des accompaniment The Real ‘Des’: The Dennis Nilsen Story, which informed 3.1m (19%) in September 2020, consolidating to 5.3m (24.7%) after 28 days, and The Pembrokeshire Murders: Catching the Gameshow Killer which engrossed 3.5m (18.2%) in January 2021 before reaching 6m (21.9%). Yesterday, ITV aired the hour-long companion to breakout drama The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe, which entertained 3m (20%) at 9pm. The four-part drama, People Vs Post Office is due to air next year. Go to Broadcaster article here