Sir Alan Bates makes rare TV appearance to surprise fellow Post Office scandal victim
Sir Alan Bates has shown his support for a fellow sub-postmaster and Horizon scandal victim with a rare TV appearance.
Sir Alan Bates will make a rare TV appearance on Car S.O.S. to support a fellow victim of the Post Office Horizon scandal.
The former sub-postmaster will join hosts Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend on Thursday's (26.03.26) episode of the National Geographic show to surprise victim Ian Davies, 63, in an emotional moment.
During the episode, Sir Alan helps deliver a surprise reveal of a fully restored 1973 Triumph Bonneville for his fellow sub-postmaster.
Tim said: “Sir Alan has had countless requests since the scandal came to light, but he’s been very clear about stepping back from that world.
"That’s never been what drives him. But when he heard Ian’s story, it clearly struck something much deeper – this was something he felt he had to be part of.”
Ian was wrongly accused of theft due to faults in the Horizon IT system, which cost him his job, reputation and financial stability.
His name was eventually cleared, but both of Ian's parents and his wife passed away before they could see justice done.
He also suffered a stroke which left him unable to restore the motorbike himself, leading to the team's incredibly emotional project.
Tim added: “What happened with Horizon is one of the most shocking miscarriages of justice in modern British history.
"When you hear what Ian has been through – losing everything, being wrongly accused, and then not having his family there to see his name cleared – it really brings home the human cost.
“We knew straight away this wasn’t just about restoring a machine – it was about restoring something that had been taken from him for years.”
Sir Alan's story, and those of his fellow victims, was told in ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, with Toby Jones playing the lead role.
In 2024, he was recognised in the King's Birthday Honours for services to justice, after founding the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance.
Car S.O.S airs every Thursday at 8pm on National Geographic.
