Toby Jones thinks Sir Alan Bates is a 'proper hero'
Toby Jones has described Sir Alan Bates, the tireless campaigner he starred as in the acclaimed ITV drama 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office', as a "proper hero".
Toby Jones has called Sir Alan Bates a “proper hero”.
The 58-year-old actor played the former subpostmaster and a leading campaigner for victims of the British Post Office Horizon IT scandal in the ITV drama 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office' last year and found it an "extraordinary honour" to bring the man to life on the big screen.
Speaking to guest host Claudia Winkleman on Friday's (28.02.25) episode of 'The Graham Norton Show', he said: "It was an extraordinary honour to play a proper hero.
"It is a great thing he has been knighted because he shows humility, determination, and resourcefulness.
"The challenge was playing a man who was not interested in promoting himself. He is a phenomenal guy.”
For years, thousands of innocent subpostmasters were pursued by the Post Office for apparent financial shortfalls which were caused by a fault in the computer system.
The UK Government is now working to compensate those who were affected and Toby has pleaded for the process to be sped up to ensure victims get what they are owed before they pass away.
He added: "There are people dying before they are paid the compensation, they are due – this thing just has to stop."
Toby portrays Richard Burton's teacher in the new film 'Mr Burton' - which tells the story of the Hollywood legend's early life - and was glad that the 'Cleopatra' star were satisfied with his performance.
The 'Detectorists' star admitted: "It was strange playing a real person – I was sort of relieved he wasn’t around, but I was so pleased the Burton family were so happy with it.”
'The Graham Norton Show' airs tonight (28.02.25) at 10.40pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
