Latest news with #BatesvsThePostOffice
Metro
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
'Seriously gripping' true crime drama storms up Netflix chart
The harrowing Netflix documentary Fred & Rose West: A British Horror Story has brought renewed interest to the frightening serial killer case that gripped headlines in the 90s. Viewers are now turning to a dramatisation of the grim case, Appropriate Adult, which was recently added to Netflix and is now ranking in the streaming platform's top 10. The two-part mini series focuses on how Fred and Rose West were brought to justice, first airing on ITV in 2011. As the opening credits state: 'This is a true story. What follows is based on extensive research, interviews and published accounts. Some scenes have been created for the purposes of dramatisation.' The drama follows Gloucester social worker Janet Leach (Emily Watson) and her pivotal role in discovering the bodies of women the couple had killed and buried on their property. She became Fred West's 'appropriate adult' – hence the show's title – and sat in on police interviews with him. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. There, he revealed in terrifying detail the horrors his victims had faced. Police officers tapped Leach in order to avoid any future insinuation Fred West had not understood the charges he was under investigation for. Dominic West plays Fred West in the drama, while Mr Bates vs The Post Office star Monica Dolan plays his wife Rose. Across the two episodes, we follow Fred's arrest, his subsequent suicide and the lifetime conviction of Rose. The Crown star said at the time that inhabiting the serial killer was so difficult it gave him nightmares. 'I have this recurring dream where I'm perched on a wall and Fred West is trying to grab me and pull me down,' he told the BBC. He also defended the drama against accusations it would prove triggering to the victims' families. 'I think it's effective without being sensational in any way,' he continued. 'Thousands of people still go missing in this country every year and are never found. 'Fred West preyed on runaways without being caught for 25 years. We should not forget this case, because there could be others like him.' West went on to win the Best Actor Bafta for his turn in the chilling drama, while Emily Watson took home the Best Actress gong. Netflix subscribers have been returning to the drama since the true crime documentary dropped on the streaming service – and it now ranks fifth on the platform's ranking of top TV. Sharing their reviews on IMDb, @truecrimeallthetime said the drama is 'seriously gripping', writing: 'Excellent dramatisation of this deeply disturbing case. Respectfully done with classy performances and simple but effective direction.' @Aimeemcdonald-55532 wrote it is 'definitely a must-see', adding: 'I was very moved by this dramatisation. Brilliant acting which left me with chills. I had to keep reminding myself that these events actually happened, because it's so stomach churning.' More Trending However, not everyone was taken with the dramatisation as @rupie had issues with the apparent sympathetic portrayal of Fred West. They wrote: 'It was repellent – as well as incomprehensible – to watch Leach's developing interest and fascination with Fred West. 'Anyone watching this movie should first do some Googling to find out the details of what Fred and Rosemary West perpetrated. If anyone deserves to be called human monsters, it is this pair. In the light of this knowledge, the script's clear intention – to me anyway – to actually make West into a figure of sympathy is disgusting.' View More » Appropriate Adult is available to stream on Netflix. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Netflix viewers have just hours to binge 'steamy' 00s British TV drama MORE: Netflix star calls 'dark' show 'very different to what I was used to' MORE: Netflix viewers think WWE star is 'lucky to be alive' as move goes horribly wrong
The Guardian
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Ex-subpostmaster is first Horizon IT victim to launch legal action against Post Office and Fujitsu
The former subpostmaster Lee Castleton, one of the highest-profile victims of the Horizon IT scandal, has become the first individual to launch legal action against the Post Office and Fujitsu. Castleton, who was played by the actor Will Mellor in the hit ITV drama Alan Bates vs The Post Office, was made bankrupt by the Post Office after a two-year legal battle. His case is one of the most well-known in the Horizon IT scandal, which has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history. Castleton bought a post office in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, in 2003. However, within a year his computer system showed a £25,000 shortfall despite him calling the Post Office's helpline 91 times, as he suspected the flawed Horizon IT system, supplied by Fujitsu, was at fault. He was taken to court by the Post Office, where he had to represent himself as he could not afford a lawyer, and was ordered to repay the money and pay costs of £321,000, which bankrupted him. Castleton is seeking compensation, alleging the civil judgment against him was obtained by fraud. 'I want justice and to be publicly vindicated,' said Castleton, who is due to receive an OBE next month. 'I'd like to effectively have my day in court as well.' While other victims have seen their convictions overturned, Castleton's civil judgment against him still stands. His legal action is to set aside, or overturn, the judgment. In 2023, the public inquiry into the Horizon scandal heard that the Post Office knew that Castleton would probably be bankrupted if a legal case was brought against him, but it wanted to send a warning message to others. Stephen Dilley, who represented the Post Office in the civil claim against Castleton, told the inquiry into the IT scandal that it knew he would not be able to pay if he lost but that the state-owned company wanted to 'show the world' it would defend the Horizon system. After the legal action, Castleton was forced to close his shop, sell his house and move into rented accommodation, while his wife suffered stress-induced seizures and his children had to move schools because of bullying. Castleton has instructed his solicitors, Simons Muirhead Burton, to issue proceedings at the high court against the Post Office and Fujitsu on his behalf. In November, Alan Bates, the lead campaigner for justice for post office operators, suggested that operators could take fresh legal action if 'full and fair' claims through the government's compensation scheme were not finalised within a reasonable timescale. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion 'If deadlines are not set for the schemes to be finished then there's every chance … it might be quicker for us to go back to court,' he told the business and trade select committee of MPs. Castleton has never applied to the government compensation scheme, but automatically received an interim payment. In her debut budget last October the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said that the government had set aside £1.8bn to cover all compensation claims. There are four main schemes – Horizon Shortfall, Group Litigation Order, Overturned Convictions and Horizon Convictions Redress – which, as the sole shareholder of the Post Office, the government is responsible for paying out. As of the end of January, the government said that approximately £663m had been paid to more than 4,300 claimants across the scheme, including interim payments for people whose full case had not been settled. Compensation payments that have been made so far range from £10,000 to well over £1m. The Post Office and Fujitsu have been approached for comment.
