A new BBC documentary will see actor Will Mellor find out what happened to the real-life sub-postmasters during the Post Office scandal - including two in Cornwall. 

Surviving The Post Office will air on BBC One and will also be available as a five-part podcast series for BBC Sounds.

Will Mellor will speak to Lee Castleton who he played in the ITV drama, Mr Bates Vs The Post Office. Mellor will also speak to four other people and their families whose lives have been torn apart.

The documentary and podcast series from BBC Local will take viewers across East Yorkshire, County Durham, Lincolnshire, West Sussex and Cornwall as Will discovers that many of the sub-postmasters want to take back control of their lives.

It’s a troubling experience for some who are facing the past while it’s a liberating step forward for others.

In Cornwall they include Shannon Brede, who still runs the Post Office at Goldsithney near Marazion. In the documentary she explains how, after being wrongly accused of stealing, she ended up paying back more than £20,000 when the problems started not long after she took over the branch in 2002.

Penny Williams, who is a former sub-postmistress of a branch in Manaccan, on the Lizard Peninsula, was also wrongly accused of stealing £20,000 when she operated her branch. She went bankrupt in 2014.

Will said: "I feel a real affinity with these families, so it was a privilege to hear their stories for this documentary and podcast.

“What shocked me most after meeting so many sub-postmasters is just how far the impact and trauma has spread – the effect it’s had on people’s health, their children, and their whole communities has been massive.”

In the documentary and podcast, Will is going to explore the financial losses many have faced but also how they are coping emotionally, trying to move on and find support in unexpected ways.

Lee Castleton from East Yorkshire really wants to move on. Speaking to Will (who played Lee in the TV drama), Lee says: “I do have an anger at what happened, but I don’t want to suffer for the rest of my life. I want to live a bit more and enjoy my life and the kids deserve to have their dad back fully.”

Stephanie Gibson, from County Durham, was working in a local Post Office aged 21 at the time. In this documentary, she tells Will how she only realised something was wrong when the police knocked at her door. She said: “I’d never been in trouble with the police in my life, it was horrendous.”

Stephanie discusses how being accused of stealing from the Post Office impacted her leading her to feel ostracized and isolated.

She eventually left the area but returns with Will for the first time to her street to confront her past fears in a powerful moment of raw emotion with a remarkable outcome.

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The Post Office has apologised for the harm caused and the public enquiry into the scandal continues with the compensation bill expected to run up to £1 billion. Many have only just started on their journey to rebuild their lives.

How to watch Surviving The Post Office

Surviving The Post Office will air on Monday, July 22 at 8.30pm on BBC One.

Viewers can also tune in via BBC iPlayer or listen to the supporting podcast on BBC Sounds – they can search for ‘The Post Office Scandal’.