Mr Bates vs The Post Office viewers surprised as important Tory MP makes cameo
Viewers of the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office were left in shock during the second instalment of the show as a Tory MP appeared.
Nadhim Zahawi, who was dismissed from the Cabinet by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in January due to seven breaches of the Ministerial Code, landed a role on the show which caused a stir on social media. He remains an MP for Stratford-on-Avon.
Playing himself, 56-year-old Zahawi tells the Select Committee that the Post Office scandal "sounds like a shambles" before he asks the organisation's chief, Paula Venells (played by Lia Williams): "You are the head of the organisation - will you provide the information - yes or no?"
Nadhim Zahawi stars as himself in a Select Committee scene on the drama (ITV)The programme, which stars Toby Bates as the title character, tells the real-life story of one of Britain’s worst-ever miscarriages of justice. Between 1999 and 2015, the Post Office prosecuted 700 innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses across the UK for false accounting and theft after a faulty computer system called Horizon caused cash to vanish from their tills.
Some went to prison or lost their jobs, while four even took their own lives. Much was done under the leadership of Paula Vennells, who was Chief Executive Officer of Post Office Limited from 2012 to 2019. Though it was known that Horizon had caused problems, the Post Office failed to disclose this to either the defendants or the courts in hundreds of cases. It was only when former sub-postmaster Alan Bates, who lost his life savings and his job in the scandal, campaigned for 20 years to finally get justice for the victims and famously led a class action which resulted in £58 million in compensation.
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The series tells the true story of the prosecution of 700 innocent Post Office sub-postmasters and postmistresses between 1999 and 2015 (ITV)Following Zahawi's appearance, viewers took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their surprise at seeing the politician on screen, considering his alleged misdemeanours in office. One user commented: "Excellent series, but I was surprised to see Zahawi make an acting appearance. Excellent series into the injustices that occurred. Very moving." Another wrote: "Either my eyesight is failing or they have a body double. But I'm sure last night's drama on the Post Office had Nadhim Zahawi in the episode. Did anyone else notice him?"
A third added: "I binge-watched this last night. Absolutely harrowing story. A must-watch. I thought my eyes were deceiving me in the scene where the guy who looks like Nadhim Zahawi was actually Nadhim Zahawi!" And a fourth said: "I nearly choked when I saw Nadhim Zahawi in it. WTAF."
A spokesman for ITV previously explained: "In factual dramas it is common for real-life figures – journalists, TV personalities and other public figures – to play themselves in small roles as a way of adding further authenticity to the series. We have chosen to feature Nadhim Zahawi for this reason."
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