The National Television Awards erupted into boos after an award winner blasted the government.
On Wednesday night (September 11), the star-studded event took place in London’s O2 Arena, with some of the biggest names in British TV in attendance. ITV dominated the nominations, with a slew of its shows up for several gongs.
But as well as this, there were a number of invited guests from other shows, drama series and documentaries – all of whom helped to inspire the programme’s creation. Among those who were given a lucky ticket to attend the ceremony was one Jo Hamilton, one of the people whose story was told in ITV smash Mr Bates vs the Post Office.
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The sub-postmaster joined the cast at the ceremony, taking to the stage when the drama series was recognised with the Impact Award. The drama helped to bring the plight of sub-postmasters to the fore, with then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying that he would do what he could to bring those responsible to justice.
(Image: Getty Images for the NTA’s)
Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were falsely accused of stealing thousands of pounds from the Post Office. A number of branch managers, sick of being hounded for the money that they knew did not exist, banded together and took the Post Office to court to highlight the faulty system the business had in place.
Jo’s story was particularly poignant, as she faced being arrested during her time as a sub-postmaster. Her harrowing story was played on the show by actress Monica Dolan, who helped Jo accept the award in front of thousands of fans at the glitzy event.
Thanking the public for the award, Jo launched into a scathing rant at the current government, with the former Royal Mail worker insisted that “nothing has changed” since Labour entered government. She added that many sub-postmasters were still not paid back by Westminster, leading to the audience erupting into a sea of boos.
(Image: Getty Images for the NTA’s)
Addressing the crowd as the show turned tense, Jo explained: “I want to say thank you to all of my colleagues who are behind me, and without strength in numbers we wouldn’t have got to where we are. And the public got right behind us and changed, literally changed, everything.
“What I would like you to know is I went to Westminster a couple of weeks back and say the new Minister,” she added. “And trust me, nothing has changed.”
(Image: Getty Images for the NTA’s)
Jo also said that of the 555 branch managers that are yet to be paid back, 300 are still waiting – including the original whistleblower Alan Bates. But according to the former Royal Mail worker, there is hope on the horizon, as she said that Alan “has a plan” to get the money back.
As well as the Impact Award, the drama also saw Toby Jones land the award for Best Drama Performance, taking on the role of Alan Bates himself. Taking to the stage, he said that the recognition meant a lot, “not just to me but to the extraordinary people who inspired our show”.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
