ITV Post Office drama could be set for a stage adaptation

ITV’s hit drama Mr Bates vs. the Post Office could be making its way to the stage.

The four-part TV show tells the true story of how more than 700 branch managers were wrongfully accused due to faulty software.

The series has captivated an average of 9.8 million viewers across its first four episodes.

And now it could be about to head to the stage.

A source told us: “The true stories of falsely convicted sub-postmasters has already gripped TV viewers and the stage could be set for a play based on the drama.”

It would be the opposite of what happened to previous hit ITV drama Quiz, telling the story of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? contestant Charles Ingram. The show started as a stage play by James Graham, who adapted the work for the screen.

Meanwhile, Mr Bates vs. the Post Office writer Gwyneth Hughes has revealed she was told the show wouldn’t be a success.

She shared with Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “On the eve of transmission our boss sent us all (a) comforting email warning us that (it) probably wouldn’t do that well, and probably not many people would watch it, but, never mind, it will find an audience, which is television speak for nobody is ever going to watch it.

“So we woke up (the) next morning, and he literally thought that he had misheard the ratings, and it just has got bigger and bigger.

“The whole thing is unbelievable, the story of the postmasters, and what happened to them was completely unbelievable from beginning to end and this is, I think, just the (latest) unbelievable chapter in the unfolding, ongoing story.”

So far, an average of 9.8 million viewers have watched the show making it the most-watched of 2024 so far.

You can catch up now via ITVX.