The series, which tells the true story of the Post Office Horizon scandal and stars Toby Jones and Monica Dolan<\/a>, is also ITV\u2019s best new drama for three years, since The Pembrokeshire Murders in January 2021.<\/p>\n The four-part drama has also been streamed 12.3m times in just eight days on ITVX, while it helped to give ITV1 its best start to the year for more than a decade, with 18.4% of the audience share for those days.<\/p>\n Kevin Lygo, managing director of media and entertainment at ITV, said: \u201cThe unwavering success of Mr Bates vs The Post Office demonstrates the undeniable power of TV, particularly public service broadcasting.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cAside from it being a ratings hit, dramatising the story with such a high calibre of British actors has reignited the campaign for justice nearly 25 years on, for a group of ordinary people \u2013 and the entire nation is behind them.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Polly Hill, head of drama at ITV added: \u201cWe commissioned this drama because it was a story that demanded to be told. Like everyone watching the show, I couldn\u2019t believe what had happened. We all just wanted the drama to help get that story heard by as many people as we could.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are all proud and overwhelmed by the power our drama has had. Alan, Jo, Lee, Jess and every sub-postmaster and sub-postmistress are being heard now, and it looks like they will finally get the justice they deserve. ITV is proud to have told this story and to support the subpostmasters.\u201d<\/p> It was previously reported that the series had beaten The Tourist<\/a> season 2 in the overnight ratings<\/a> for New Year\u2019s Day, when both shows debuted.<\/p>\n An audience of 2.2 million viewers tuned in to watch The Tourist<\/a>, as opposed to the 4.6 million who watched Mr Bates vs The Post Office<\/a>.<\/p> ![\"Toby](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/12\/mrbatesvsthepostoffice09-066745a-e1704196173944.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413\" "\\"mr_bates_vs_the_post_office_09\\"\/")
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