The 2024 Brit Awards turned political quickly when former sub-postmaster Jo Hamilton took to the stage to hand out an award - along with a piece of her mind for the government.
The 66-year-old former Post Office worker has been in the public eye this year following the success of the ITV show Mr Bates vs The Post Office which was a dramatisation of the scandalous treatment of Britain’s post masters. The show highlighted a gross injustice when the Post Office switched to a computer program called Horizon which was defective.
The technology left many Post Office owners showing end of day trading balances down - when they were not. The postmasters were then forced to pay back the seemingly missing funds - leading many to end up suffering huge debts, financial woes, and some even took their own lives.
The ITV drama has been one of the highest viewed shows in recent years and saw Toby Jones playing the titular Alan Bates. For the first award at the 2024 Brit Award ceremony, Jo was invited onto the stage alongside 54-year-old actress Monica Dolan who played her in the drama.
The ladies were on stage to dish out the Song of the Year Award - which was won by Raye for her number one smash Escapism, featuring 070 Shake. But before the winner was announced, Jo invited the audience and viewers watching her from home to continue supporting her and her fellow wronged post workers.
She said: “I just want to thank everybody in the country for the love and support they have shown the postmasters. And please could you keep on supporting us because in spite of what the government say, they’re not paying the postmasters. Thank you.”
Jo won huge cheers from the audience - while the government received a hefty round of boos. While Jo and Monica were hosting one of the awards, the main ceremony was hosted by Maya Jama, Clara Amfo and Roman Kemp.
Ahead of the show, the hosting trio all shared their excitement to be teaming up to present the awards. Clara said: “Hosting The BRITs is a bucket list job, I’m so very honoured and excited for this year’s show. Throughout my career, I’ve been so lucky to witness the growth of this year’s nominees and performers and I know it’s gonna be another special one. I can’t wait to hit the stage with Maya and Roman to celebrate these amazing artists at The O2!”
Maya added: “I'm really excited to be hosting The BRIT Awards alongside Clara and Roman. I’ve worked alongside the incredible team at the BRITs for years now and it’s something I always watched, and wanted to be a part of, growing up - so it’s amazing to be on the stage this year hosting it! It’s always one of the best nights of the year for me, and a real celebration of British music, culture, and talent.”
Roman shared: “This is a real pinch me moment! Hosting the BRIT Awards - what an honour. I remember watching the BRITs on TV when I was growing up so to be asked to host this year’s awards, is a dream come true. It’s going to be a privilege to share the stage with so many talented artists and to celebrate the incredible achievements of all the nominees and winners this year. See you there.”
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