The day before Will Mellor was offered a role in a TV series about a Post Office scandal, he was considering giving up acting altogether.
He had been a familiar face on British screens for decades, but work was beginning to dry up.
However, the next day his agent called him to offer him the role of former sub-postmaster Lee Castleton in ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Office.
He soon realized that this role was bigger than any he had played before – and that it would completely change the course of his life.
Twenty-five years after the first convictions for theft and fraud, this four-part drama has generated massive public interest in the Post Office scandal like never before.
It details the experiences of some of the hundreds of sub-postmasters who have been prosecuted because of incorrect information from the Horizon computer system, described as the UK’s most widespread miscarriage of justice in recent history.
La Poste itself has brought numerous cases to court, prosecuting 700 people between 1999 and 2015.
Some innocent subpostmasters were sent to prison and many were financially ruined.
Lee, the former sub-postmaster of Marine Drive Post Office in Bridlington, Yorkshire, has attempted to defend himself in the High Court against accusations that he stole money and was went bankrupt when he lost the lawsuit.
“I knew virtually nothing about the scandal before I read the script,” Will said.
“Like a lot of people, I had read some things, I had heard some things – it was a faulty computer system and it didn’t sound like a compelling story.
“But when you see the effects of that and you realise how isolated these people were, how they were made to feel like they were the only ones, how innocent people were treated like criminals – not just by the Post Office but sometimes by their communities – I think the public really felt that and responded accordingly.”
The Post Office told the BBC it was sorry for the suffering caused to so many people, adding that it was now working in partnership with postmasters and was “committed to transforming the organisation”.
As part of the documentary, he met people from across England whose lives have been turned upside down by the scandal and heard how they are trying to move on with their lives.
Many have never spoken publicly about their experience before.
One of those people was Stephanie Gibson, a mother of three and former post office worker from South Pelaw, County Durham.
In 2007, Stephanie, then 28, was charged and brought to trial after being wrongly accused of stealing money from the branch where she worked.
Her legal case made the front page of her local newspaper, alongside her photo.
After an eight-day trial, Stephanie was acquitted and a judge told her she could leave court “without any damage to her reputation.”
“I should have been happy then,” she told Will over a cup of tea in her kitchen.
“I just wanted to get back to normal life.
“It didn’t work out that way.”
That evening, as she was putting her children to bed, a brick was thrown through her window.
Over the next few days, paint stripper was poured on her car, she was spat at in the street and ostracised by people in her local community.
Stephanie and her young family left the area almost immediately, fearing for their safety.
As a result, Stephanie’s world shrank beyond recognition: she became a recluse, only leaving her new home when absolutely necessary.
“A physical response”
“What was shocking about Stephanie was the amount of time that had passed since her acquittal,” Will said.
“She was still traumatised by it all and hadn’t been able to move on – it had affected her life, her children’s lives, and even the place where she lived.
“Imagine waking up every day with this phone on you while everyone else goes on with their lives.”
After talking about her ordeal, Stephanie agreed to let Will drive her to the street she had fled, which was the first time she had been back there in over 16 years.
“She was shaking in the car on the way there, holding the door,” he said.
“It was a physical reaction, I could see she was still tormented and still going through all of this.”
But a meeting with a street resident upon their arrival changed everything.
“A former neighbor came and hugged Stephanie,” he said.
“The emotion poured out of her, she was crying, it was the release she just hadn’t been able to have.
“It was huge and I think it’s the first step in her recovery. Hopefully she can sleep a little better at night now and I’m so happy to have been a part of that.”
The documentary also took Will to Gainsborough in Lincolnshire to meet his brother and sister Thomas and Katie Watson, the children of sub-postmistress Fiona Watson.
The family moved to the area when Thomas and Katie were eight and ten years old respectively.
They thrived in their new life at the heart of their local community, living above the shop, which was enhanced by an award for Post Office of the Year.
But a year later, the Post Office auditors got in touch: money was missing from the accounts.
An internal investigation and formal hearing followed.
“The option their mother was given was to plead guilty, be a felon, not have a job, not have a post office but still see her children, or go to jail and not see her children,” Will said.
“What kind of option is that?”
It was a real disaster for the family, but worse news was to come.
During the inquest, Fiona was diagnosed with lymphoma and died shortly afterwards, with her young children by her side.
A family torn apart
Will said that when he met the siblings, he could tell they were hurting.
“It was written all over their faces. When they told me their story, I understood that this was a family completely torn apart.
“Their mother died a criminal – her innocence was never proven during her lifetime.
“You can never get that back and I can’t imagine what they went through.”
Thomas and Katie are calling for a next-generation redress system to compensate the children of victims of the scandal.
The Department for Trade and Business told the BBC that redressing the damage done to subpostmasters and their families is a priority for the new Labour government.
Describing the scandal as “appalling”, a department spokesman said financial losses are “taken into account under various compensation schemes” and families can apply for financial redress if a postmaster has died.
A massive movement of support
Will said the victims he met while travelling across England for the documentary Surviving the Post Office are never far from his thoughts.
“This story is with me all the time and I get angry every time I talk about it,” he said.
“People have lost their lives, their childhoods, their homes, time has been stolen from them that they can never get back.”
Yet despite all the horror, injustice and tragedy of the Post Office scandal, Will said he believed the outpouring of public support had the power to transform those who suffered.
“I know from speaking to Lee Castleton that he is impressed by the public support,” he said.
“And I still get it every day – every day someone stops me and says, ‘Well done to the Post Office.’”
“Part of me feels a little guilty – I was just a small part of it all, I’m an actor doing a job and I’m just grateful and privileged to be able to do it.
“But I’m proud to have had the opportunity to be part of something positive, something that has the potential to give some hope to the victims of this scandal.”