The writer behind the television drama about the Post Office scandal has revealed the “unbelievable” response to the programme has come as a huge surprise.

Mr Bates Vs The Post Office has been hailed for forcing the government to speed up its response to help victims of what has been branded the biggest miscarriage of justice in British legal history.

The first episode of the programme about the scandal, which began on 1 January, has been watched by more than 9.2 million viewers, with the four-part series becoming the most-watched programme on any channel so far this year, ITV confirmed earlier this week.

Writer Gwyneth Hughes said the cast and crew were “blown away” after bracing themselves for a lukewarm response.

She told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “On the eve of transmission, our boss sent us all (a) comforting email warning us that (it) probably won’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 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, I think, is just the (latest) unbelievable chapter in the unfolding story.”

Ms Hughes said “nobody at the Post Office hierarchy wanted to get involved” – prompting the crew to use emails, transcripts and interviews of former chief executive, Paula Vennells, to portray her in the drama, starring Toby Jones as former sub-postmaster, Alan Bates.

Ms Vennells bowed to pressure and handed back her CBE after more than 1 million people signed a petition demanding she returned the honour.

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Read more:
David Cameron ‘doesn’t recall’ being briefed on scandal
Post Office ‘could face £100m bill and insolvency’
Tony Blair was warned Horizon could be ‘flawed’ while PM

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Ms Hughes, who is also a documentary-maker, said even the best documentaries “sort of appeal to your head rather than your heart”.

But she said of the drama: “During this terrible event, experiencing it through the eyes of the person who went through it, and, in the hands of a brilliant actor, that can just grab your heart and attention like nothing else.”

After what she described as “the most extraordinary couple of weeks”, Ms Hughes has no immediate plans for the future.

She added: “The inbox is full of people saying to me, ‘I’ve got a story for you, it’s even worse than the Post Office’. So…I (will stay) in a darkened room then think of something else.'”

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The Horizon scandal saw more than 700 sub-postmasters and mistresses convicted after faulty Fujitsu software made it appear as though money was going missing from their branches. More Post Office managers have come forward in the wake of the television drama.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said hundreds of wrongly prosecuted managers in England and Wales could be cleared under blanket legislation by the end of the year – although concerns mass exoneration could interfere with judicial independence.

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