Katherine Kelly plays the real-life figure in ITV’s new four-part drama.
New ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office features a stacked ensemble cast, including Toby Jones, Will Mellor, Monica Dolan, Alex Jennings and many more, to tell the true story of the Post Office scandal.
Also included in the cast is Katherine Kelly, who plays Angela van den Bogerd, a Post Office employee who becomes central in the later episodes of the drama.
But who is the real figure behind the character of Van den Bogerd in the series, and what happened to her?
Read on for everything you need to know about Angela van den Bogerd, as depicted in Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Who is Angela van den Bogerd and what happened to her?
Angela van den Bogerd is a businesswoman who was a central figure at the hearings surrounding the Post Office scandal, due to her various roles at the organisation over 33 years.
At one time, she was its head of partnerships, before being appointed as the organisation’s business improvement director in 2018.
Van den Bogerd had reportedly been handling complaints about Horizon since 2010, and had sat on a working group to deal with the scandal since 2014.
The judge in court hearings, Rt Hon Justice Fraser, criticised the testimony Van den Bogerd gave during said hearings, saying that she “did not give me frank evidence, and sought to obfuscate matters, and mislead me”.
She left her job with the Post Office in 2020, before being appointed later that year by the Football Association of Wales as its head of people.
Her appointment to the role was controversial, and was cited as one of the reasons for a no confidence motion in the association’s chief executive, Jonathan Ford.
After Ford departed the association, Van den Bogerd left her position there in March 2021, mere months after her appointment.
Who plays Angela van den Bogerd in Mr Bates vs The Post Office?
Angela van den Bogerd is played by Katherine Kelly in Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Kelly has previously had roles in series including Mr Selfridge, Happy Valley, The Night Manager, Class, Strike Back, Murdertown, Gentleman Jack, Criminal UK, Liar and The Long Shadow, while she is perhaps still best-known for having played Becky in Coronation Street.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office arrives on 1st January at 9pm on ITV and ITVX. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
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