The Cast of Mr Bates Vs The Post Office top the RadioTimes.com’s TV 100 List, celebrating the most influential people in television

Monday 8 April 2024

RadioTimes.com, the UK’s number one entertainment website, has revealed its annual RadioTimes.com TV 100 list, recognising the top 100 people in front of and behind the camera, responsible for landmark TV moments over the past 12 months, decided by the website’s team of experts.

The TV power list recognises Mr Bates VS The Post Office as the first ensemble to take the number one spot by making the most impact in television over the past year. The cast is praised by TV 100 contributor, Kevin Lygo, Managing Director, Media & Entertainment ITV, for being “ITV’s biggest drama since records began, over 20 years ago”.

The cast was led by Toby Jones (Alan Bates) and Monica Dolan (Jo Hamilton). It was written by Gwyneth Hughes, produced by Patrick Spence and commissioned for ITV by Polly Hill. Will Mellor, Julie Hesmondhalgh and Katherine Kelly also starred in the series, which dramatises the fight for justice faced by Post Office staff wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to the defective Horizon IT system.

Star of HBO’s Succession, Kieran Culkin, comes in at second place for his portrayal of Roman Roy, with screen writer Jesse Armstrong securing ninth on the list for his “impact on the TV landscape”. Other Succession cast members include Sarah Snook at number 41.

Sarah Lancashire takes third place for her “phenomenal performance in Happy Valley”, with television writer and producer of Happy Valley, Sally Wainwright in sixth place for “creating strong and complex female characters. Bella Ramsey is in fourth place for “showcasing their versatility on screen” in HBO’s drama series, The Last of Us.

Ncuti Gatwa, who topped the list last year, is fifth on the list following his ground-breaking performance in Doctor Who. Host of The Traitors and Strictly Come Dancing Claudia Winkleman is seventh as her “versatility is evident across a wide spectrum of shows”.

The success of the Disney+ series The Bear sees Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winner Ayo Edebiri debut in eighth place and is lauded by TV 100 contributor, Dame Pippa Harris, Co-Founder, Neal Street Productions, as the “most exciting comedic actor/writers of her generation”.

Other individuals to make the top 20 include Match of The Day presenter Gary Lineker, Eastenders executive producer Christopher Clenshaw, Comedian Paul O’Grady, The Crown’s Elizabeth Debicki and Beef’s Ali Wong & Steven Yeun.

The annual list is compiled by leading figures from across the creative industries, including Kevin Lygo, Managing Director, Media & Entertainment ITV; Charlotte Moore, BBC Director of Content; Zai Bennett, Sky UK and Ireland Managing Director of Content; Dame Pippa Harris, Neal Street Productions, Co-Founder; and Charlie Irwin, Thames TV, Managing Director, whose nominations of the most exciting, influential names working in television today, was then curated into a final list by RadioTimes.com’s team of expert editors and critics.

Radio Times TV 100 – the full list