Popular ITV drama, Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, truly delivered during the star-studded NTA Awards ceremony on Wednesday night.
In one of the biggest nights of the award evenings calendar, presenters, crewmen and actors gathered to appreciate the best of recent television. Among the rest of winners were Kate Garraway’s poignant documentary to commemorate her late husband, Derek Draper. The Traitors scooped Reality Competition along with Bridgeton taking the Returning Drama.
Of the nominees, the ITV four-part drama that documents the post office scandal (1999-2015) made serious significance. Amidst scooping a trio of awards, the prolific miniseries continued to give voice to the sub postmasters wronged in the infamous scandal it documents.
The Toby Jones led miniseries received the honour of the New Drama Award, beating out tough competition of the likes of Netflix hit Baby Reindeer, romantic drama One Day and thrillers Fool Me Once and Red Eye.
Jones himself scooped Best Actor. In his acceptance speech the actor said: “This means an awful lot, not just to me but to the extraordinary people who inspired our show.”
He also used the opportunity to congratulate the real Sir Alan on his recent marriage to his partner Suzanne Sercombe and hailed the drama as an “extraordinary project” to work on.
The four-part drama, available on ITVX, 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.
Jo Hamilton was among the sub postmasters affected by the scandal on stage with the cast and crew. She addressed the crowds in the packed O2 arena and the viewers at home, expressing her disappointment at the lack of progress with payouts since Labour came to power.
“What I’d like you to know is I went to Westminster a couple of weeks back and saw the new minister,” she said. “And trust me, nothing has changed.”
She added: “It’s true, and almost all of these people behind me haven’t been paid yet.”
As of 30 August, £87m has been paid under the scheme, including interim payments. On 9 September, Labour announced a new scheme which has a target of making an offer to 90% of sub-postmasters who have submitted a full claim within 40 days.
Mr Bates was not at Wednesday’s award ceremony. He married his partner Suzanne on Sir Richard Branson’s private island in the Caribbean last month.
Mrs Hamilton told the ceremony: “He has a plan, so when he comes back to the nation for help, please be there to support him.”
The Post Office series was one of many highlights of the evening. Here are all the nominations from the night with the winners in bold as they are announced.
Authored Documentary
- Beckham
- Rhod Gilbert: A Pain in the Neck
- Robbie Williams
- Rose Ayling-Ellis: Signs for Change
- Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story
Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award
- Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway
- The Graham Norton Show
- I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here
- The Masked Singer
- Michael McIntyre’s Big Show
Comedy
- Brassic
- The Gentlemen
- Ghosts
- Mrs Brown’s Boys
- Not Going Out
Daytime
- The Chase
- Deal or No Deal
- Loose Women
- This Morning
- The Repair Shop
Drama Performance
- Brenda Blethyn (Vera)
- Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer)
- Michelle Keegan (Fool Me Once)
- Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs the Post Office)
- Vicky McClure (Trigger Point)
Expert
- Anton Du Beke (Strictly Come Dancing)
- David Attenborough (Mammals)
- Kaleb Cooper (Clarkson’s Farm)
- Martin Lewis (The Martin Lewis Money Show)
- Torvill & Dean (Dancing on Ice)
Factual Entertainment
- Clarkson’s Farm
- Gogglebox
- Martin Lewis Money Show Live
- Sort Your Life Out
- The Yorkshire Vet
New Drama
- Baby Reindeer
- Fool Me Once
- Mr Bates vs the Post Office
- One Day
- Red Eye
Quiz/Game Show
- The 1% Club
- Ant & Dec’s Limitless Win
- Beat the Chasers
- Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel
- Richard Osman’s House of Games
Reality Competition
- The Apprentice
- Celebrity Big Brother
- Love Island
- Race Across the World
- The Traitors
Returning Drama
- Bridgerton
- Call the Midwife
- The Crown
- Trigger Point
- Vera
Serial Drama
- Casualty
- Coronation Street
- EastEnders
- Emmerdale
- Hollyoaks
Serial Drama Performance
- Angela Wynter (EastEnders)
- David Neilson (Coronation Street)
- Diane Parish (EastEnders)
- Eden Taylor-Draper (Emmerdale)
- Peter Ash (Coronation Street)
Talent Show
- Britain’s Got Talent
- The Great British Bake Off
- MasterChef
- Strictly Come Dancing
- The Voice UK
TV Presenter
- Alison Hammond (This Morning)
- Ant and Dec (I’m a Celebrity)
- Bradley Walsh (The Chase)
- Claudia Winkleman (The Traitors)
- Stacey Solomon (Sort Your Life Out)
Special Recognition Award
- Davina McCall
