The actor playing former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells in ITV's new four-part drama has spoken out on her preparations for playing the role and how she views the businesswoman.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office tells the story of the "greatest miscarriage of justice in British history" in which sub-postmasters were hounded, persecuted and even convicted after a glitch in the company's new computer system led to financial losses in the company's accounts.
Led by Toby Jones in the titular role, the ITV drama delves into the horrors the scandal caused for sub-postmasters everywhere, including the devastating toll and stress it caused on people's wellbeing and how several even ended up behind bars.
Of those affected by the faulty IT system, Horizon, 736 were prosecuted, while hundreds more lost livelihoods, homes, and life savings as a result of having to pay back the money the Post Office claimed was missing.
Alan Bates formed the Justice For Sub-postmasters Alliance in 2009 in the fight for justice against the Post Office and eventually, the Court of Appeal decided to overturn the criminal convictions of dozens of former sub-postmasters and postmistresses.
A public inquiry into the scandal is still ongoing today as Mr Bates vs The Post Office aims to shed light on the stories of the sub-postmasters affected - as well as those on the side of the Post Office.
Lia Williams as Paula Vennells in Mr Bates vs The Post Office
ITV
One such person is Vennells who was CEO of the Post Office when the scandal erupted and is played by Lia Williams in the ITV drama.
However, Williams has claimed she doesn't view Vennells as a "bad person" and didn't want to portray her as "evil", despite much of the outrage from ITV viewers being aimed her way.
"She’s a fascinating character because she was an ordained minister (she's left now), married with two boys, I believe," Williams told ITV.
The actor continued: "She loved music, exercise, she was a runner and a cyclist. And my understanding of her is that she's very bright. I tried to portray her with ambiguity because I felt that that best served the script and the piece.
Have you been affected by the Horizon IT scandal? If you'd like to share your story, get in touch at money@gbnews.uk.
Toby Jones plays Alan Bates in the hit ITV drama
ITV
"It leaves the audience to decide what they think of her, rather than me ramming something down their throat. It was very important that I didn't present her as some evil monster when I didn't truly know who she is or what was going on behind closed doors.
"We only know that she lost control of a situation that she had no idea how to manage. It was beyond her."
Explaining her understanding of Vennells' conduct after she became embroiled in the saga, Williams said: "She was brought in by the Government to turn the Post Office around, and to my mind, she was ambitious to do that and wanted to please the people that had put her there.
"I just think she became blinkered. I cannot see anywhere that she was a bad person, I just think the situation became horrendous and beyond her control and she probably got terrified and didn't know how to handle it.
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Paula Vennells served as CEO of the Post Office from 2012-2019
PA
"And then it started to build, and it became out of control. And then I think she buried her head in the sand.
"She clearly got it horribly wrong. And she's going to have to explain that quite soon, one way or another.”
Vennells was given a CBE in the 2019 New Year Honours List for services to the Post Office and to charity - although has faced calls to hand it back following the scandal.
