Llandudno played host to ITV film crews and some big-name actors earlier this year as the broadcaster shot scenes for the new series Mr Bates vs The Post Office. 

ITV and the likes of Toby Jones (Captain America: The First Avenger and The Hunger Games) and Julie Hesmondhalgh (Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street) were spotted in Craig-y-Don and Llandudno in July as part of filming for the four-part drama series.

Eagle eye viewers may have caught a quick glimpse of some of the local sites used during filming in the trailer for Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which aired for the first time on ITV recently. 

But now ITV has revealed when the series will go to air, which will give residents a proper chance to see their hometown on the small screen.

When is Mr Bates vs The Post Office on TV?

The first of four episodes of Mr Bates vs The Post Office will air on ITV1 and ITVX on Monday, January 1 at 9pm. 

The next three episodes will air at the same time on the three nights following - January 2 to 4.

Where did filming for Mr Bates vs The Post Office take place?

ITV film crews used various locations around Llandudno for filming, according to a letter issued to Craig-y-Don residents earlier this year.

But the main location used for filming was St David's Hospice on Queens Road in Craig-y-Don which was converted into a post office for two days of filming. 

ITV said: "This used to be the actual Post Office of Alan Bates and St David's have kindly allowed us to recreate a post office in their shop."

Period cars were seen dotted along Queens Road in July, used for external scenes for Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

North Wales Pioneer: Filming for Mr Banks vs The Post Office took place in Llandudno and Craig-y-Don in July 2023.Filming for Mr Banks vs The Post Office took place in Llandudno and Craig-y-Don in July 2023. (Image: Patrick Glover)

Mr Bates vs The Post Office cast

The cast for Mr Bates vs The Post Office on ITV will include:

  • Alan Bates - Toby Jones (Captain America: The First Avenger and The Hunger Games)
  • Suzanne Sercombe - Julie Hesmondhalgh (Coronation Street)
  • Jo Hamilton - Monica Dolan (Black Mirror and The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe)
  • Paula Vennells - Lia Williams (The Crown and His Dark Materials)
  • James Arbuthnot - Alex Jennings (This is Going to Hurt and The Crown)
  • Lee Castleton - Will Mellor (Coronation Stree and Broadchurch)
  • Michael Rudkin - Shaun Dooley (The Witcher and Black Mirror)
  • Bob Rutherford - Ian Hart (The Last Kingdom)
  • Jasgun Singh - Amit Shah (Happy Valley)
  • Saman Kaur - Krupa Pattani (Hollyoaks and Ron's Gone Wrong)
  • Angela Van den Bogerd - Katherine Kelly (Happy Valley and Mr Selfridge)
  • Kay Linnell - Isobel Middleton (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Emmerdale)
  • Gina Griffiths - Clare Calbraith (Downton Abbey and Doctors)
  • Martin Griffiths - Colin Tierney (DCI Banks and The Bill)
  • Mr Justice Fraser - Pip Torrens (Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens and The Crown)
  • Lisa Castleton - Amy Nuttall (Emmerdaler and Downton Abbey)
  • Noel Thomas - Ifan Huw Dafydd (The Light in the Hall and Fireman Sam)
  • Pam Stubbs - Lesley Nicol (Downton Abbey)
  • James Hartley - John Hollingworth (Napoleon, 1917 and The Full Monty)
  • Patrick Green QC- Adam James (The Suspect and Vigil)

North Wales Pioneer: Toby Jones (left) will play the lead role in ITV series Mr Banks vs The Post Office.Toby Jones (left) will play the lead role in ITV series Mr Banks vs The Post Office. (Image: DJ Peaks photography)

What is Mr Bates vs The Post Office about?

Mr Bates vs The Post Office is about "the greatest miscarriage of justice in British legal history", according to ITV. 

Summarising the new TV drama, ITV said: "For over a decade, the Post Office wrongly accused, harassed, and prosecuted hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters for theft, fraud, and false accounting due to Horizon, a defective IT system. 

"This is the real life story of their ten-year battle to prove their innocence culminating in a High Court trial, and paving the way for more than eighty wrongful convictions to be overturned."