Katherine Kelly reluctant to talk about Mr Bates Vs. The Post Office character
Katherine Kelly is hesitant to talk about 'Mr Bates Vs. The Post Office' because she knows people will ask questions about playing Angela van den Bogerd, and she doesn't want to giver her character "any more airtime".
Katherine Kelly is reluctant to discuss ‘Mr. Bates Vs. The Post Office’ over fears the spotlight could shine away from the victims.
The 45-year-old actress starred in the ITV1 award-winning drama - which told of the Horizon IT scandal, which saw dozens of sub-postmasters being wrongly convicted of theft and locked behind bars, and some even became homeless took their own lives - as the former business improvement director Angela van den Bogerd.
Now, Katherine has admitted to being hesitant to talk about the programme because she knows people will ask questions about playing Angela - and 'The Crow Girl' star does not want to give her character "any more airtime".
She told Metro newspaper: "I wanted them to have the spotlight and I felt that it shouldn’t be on Angela anymore, so I’m going to stick with that really because I feel like that’s the right look ...
"I actually said no to all press interviews because I didn’t want Angela van den Bogerd to have any more airtime than she’d already had, and I would inevitably be asked about her and playing her."
Following the programme - which also starred Toby Jones, as Sir Alan Bates, the sub-postmaster who led the campaign for victims - hundreds of convictions were quashed and progress to give compensation to those affected has been made.
However, The Business and Trade Committee has claimed compensation for victims is still not being given "fast enough".
Part of a House of Commons committee report by the Business and Trade Committee, which was published on New Year's Day (01.01.25), reads: "It has been one year since the premiere of the ITV Drama Mr Bates v The Post Office.
"The drama attracted widespread attention to the Post Office Horizon scandal and the unacceptable length of time involved in delivering redress to victims.
"Some improvements have been made to the redress schemes and they are now moving faster. But not fast enough.
"The most recent data published by the Government shows that just £499 million out of the £1.8 billion set aside for redress has been paid out to claimants.
"Seventy-two per cent of the total budget for redress has still not been paid. Worse still, the schemes are so poorly designed that the application process is akin to a second trial for victims."
What's more, Katherine thinks there is "still a long way to go".
The ex-'Coronation Street' star said: "‘Things are still not as they should be.
"Things have not been wrapped up in the way that we’d hoped. There’s been a massive forward momentum, but, my God, there’s still a long way to go, and I think we should be talking about them rather than anybody on the other side or who I played."
